As the 2025 NFL season comes to a close, the conversations around the league’s awards are about to heat up. With the NFL Honors coming up in just a few weeks, who should take home the prestigious awards?
Multiple names could be heavily considered for the Coach of the Year award. Liam Coen, Ben Johnson, Kyle Shanahan, and Mike McDonald have all worked wonders with their respective teams this year.
What Mike Vrabel has done with the Patriots is remarkable. After going 4-13 last year, the Pats hired the former Tennessee Titans’ head coach, and he’s turned them completely around.
The Patriots are 13-3 and clinched the AFC East for the first time since 2019, before Tom Brady left. Second-year QB Drake Maye is arguably the league’s best QB, and the culture has completely shifted. Vrabel will be in New England for a long time, and his first year has been a massive success.
The OROY award has been bounced around like a hot potato in 2025. Emeka Egbuka, Jaxson Dart, Tyler Warren, and Ashton Jeanty have all been mentioned for it at some point. It seems the favorite at the tail end of the year is Carolina Panthers wide receiver, Tetairoa McMillan.
McMillan has been an absolute stud for a rising Panthers team. He has 66 receptions for 929 yards and seven touchdowns in 16 games. He’s a standout in a receiver room that’s struggled over the years, and he gives QB Bryce Young a set of sure hands to throw to.
McMillan has everything he needs to be a superstar in the NFL, and he might already be starting on his trophy case.
The DROY race has been largely underwhelming in 2025. While Abdul Carter was the favorite ahead of the season, the New York Giants’ turmoil squandered that. Rookie linebacker Carson Schwesinger has been a massive piece of the Browns’ defensive success this year.
Schwesinger has recorded 67 solo tackles, 156 total tackles, nine QB hits, 2.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, and two interceptions. He’s been a menace all over the field and deserves recognition for it. He’s the runaway favorite for this award for a reason.
The Seattle Seahawks signed QB Sam Darnold in the 2025 offseason, and with that, the entire offensive game plan shifted. Third-year receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba became the key to Seattle’s success, as he always should have been.
Smith-Njigba currently has 113 receptions for 1,709 yards and 10 touchdowns, all career highs. His highlight reel from this year speaks for itself. He’s a huge reason Seattle is in the playoffs, and has made Darnold’s transition a wonderful one.
This is undoubtedly the easiest award to predict at this point in the season. At 22 sacks, Myles Garrett is one sack away from breaking the single-season record (22.5). He’s the best defensive player in football, and it’s hard to make an argument against that.
Garrett has already won the DPOY award in 2023, and he’s having a better year now than he did then. There’s simply no other choice for this award in 2025.
Ahead of the 2024 NFL season, Christian McCaffrey was coming off an OPOY award-winning season and gracing the cover of Madden 25. He had just signed an extension with the 49ers and was on top of the world.
McCaffrey suffered a calf and Achilles injury during training camp and the preseason, and ultimately only played four games. He bounced back in 2025 with a career high of 303 carries for 1,179 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also racked up 96 receptions for 890 yards and seven more scores.
12 months ago, it seemed McCaffrey’s career might be winding down due to injuries. He flipped that narrative on its head as the workhorse of San Francisco’s offense.
Drake Maye winning the NFL MVP would be extremely fitting if Vrabel wins COTY. The second-year QB has been nothing short of sensational after a promising, but tumultuous, rookie year.
Vrabel unlocked something in Maye. The UNC product has thrown for 4,203 yards, 30 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. He also leads the league with a 71.7 completion percentage. He’s also rushed the ball 98 times for 409 yards and four more scores.
Maye has helped usher in a new era for the Patriots. After Tom Brady’s departure, the team was in a slump, but after only five years, they’ve found their new franchise QB. After Matthew Stafford’s struggles in Week 17, Maye should have this trophy locked up.
The NFL Honors can be wildly unpredictable, and sometimes, the debates can be fun. Josh Allen vs. Lamar Jackson is still argued a year later. Maye vs. Stafford is an interesting battle between the past and the future, and frankly, the future should win.
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