The New England Patriots are finalists in six major categories for the 2025 Associated Press NFL Awards, including Drake Maye, who was named the league’s Most Valuable Player.
Christian McCaffrey is the first player to be a finalist for three AP NFL awards in the same year, joining Josh Allen, Trevor Lawrence, Derek Meyer and Matthew Stafford in the running for the AP’s 2025 NFL Most Valuable Player Award.
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McCaffrey and Meyer were also finalists for Offensive Player of the Year. McCaffrey and Lawrence were finalists for Comeback Player of the Year.
Winners will be announced on February 5 at NFL Honors. A national jury of 50 media members who regularly cover the league completed their voting before the playoffs began. Voting results were tabulated by accounting firm Lutz & Carr.
Voters selected the top five for eight AP NFL awards. A first place vote is worth 10 points. The votes for second to fifth place are 5, 3, 2 and 1 points respectively.
Here are the finalists for the eight AP NFL awards (in alphabetical order):
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most valuable player
Allen, the reigning MVP, threw for 3,668 yards, 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions with a passer rating of 102.2, leading Buffalo to its seventh straight playoff berth. He also caught 14 touchdowns. The Bills were eliminated from the playoffs by the Denver Nuggets in the divisional round and fired head coach Sean McDermott.
Lawrence helped Jacksonville win 13 games and the AFC South title. He passed for 4,007 yards, 29 touchdowns and 12 picks. The Jaguars were eliminated in the wild-card round by the Bills.
McCaffrey was an all-around pro, running for 1,202 yards and 10 touchdowns and catching 102 passes for 924 yards and seven touchdowns. He played a key role in helping the injury-plagued San Francisco 49ers win 12 games.
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Meyer passed for 4,394 yards, 31 touchdowns and eight picks to lead the New England Patriots to the AFC East title and a spot in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game. Meyer leads the NFL in passer rating (113.5) and pass completion percentage (72).
Stafford leads the NFL with 4,707 passing yards and 46 touchdowns. He threw eight picks and ranked second behind Maye with a passer rating of 109.2. Stafford was named a first-team All-Pro for the first time in his 17-year career.
Last year, Lamar Jackson was selected as a first-team All-Pro quarterback but was defeated by Allen for MVP.
Coach of the Year
Liam Cohen led the Jaguars to a 13-4 record and division title in his first season, giving the team nine wins.
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Ben Johnson leads the Chicago Bears to an 11-5 record and their first NFC North title in seven seasons.
Mike Macdonald led the Seattle Seahawks to a 14-3 record and the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The Seahawks will host the Rams in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday.
Kyle Shanahan has led the 49ers to 12 wins despite suffering a series of injuries to key players, including losing defensive stars Nick Bosa and Fred Warner for the season.
Mike Vrabel, the 2021 Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year, took the Patriots from worst to first with 10 wins in his first season at the helm.
Assistant Coach of the Year
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, Seahawks offensive coordinator Clint Kubiak and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is a finalist.
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Comeback Player of the Year
Lawrence, McCaffrey, Patriots wide receiver Stefon DiggsLions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson and Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott are finalists.
Defensive Player of the Year
All-Pro edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. had 12 sacks for the Houston Texans and was a vital part of the NFL’s No. 1 defense.
Broncos edge rusher Nik Bonitto finished second in the league on defense with 14 sacks.
Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett, a unanimous All-Pro selection, set single-season records with 23 sacks and 33 tackles for loss. He is the 2023 Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year.
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Lions edge rusher Hutchinson had 14 1/2 sacks.
All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons had 12 1/2 sacks in 13 1/2 games before tearing his ACL in his first season in Green Bay.
Offensive Player of the Year
Puka Nakua, Bijan Robinson and Jaxon Smith-Njiba join the team Maye and McCaffrey were finalists.
Nacua and Smith-Njigba were unanimous All-Pro selections.
Nacua leads the NFL with 129 catches for 1,715 yards and 10 touchdowns for the Rams. Smith-Ngiba led the league with 119 catches, 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Robinson, an All-Pro running back, leads the NFL with 2,298 yards from scrimmage. He ran for 1,478 yards and seven touchdowns and caught 79 passes for 820 yards and four scores.
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Defensive Rookie of the Year
Giants edge rusher Abdul Carter, Seahawks defensive back Nick Emmanwory, Falcons edge rusher James Pierce Jr., Browns linebacker Carson Schweizer and Falcons safety Xavier Watts were shortlisted.
Offensive Rookie of the Year
Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart, Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, Patriots running back Tre’Vion HendersonPanthers wide receiver Te’taroyah McMillan and Saints quarterback Tyler Shaw are finalists.
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