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Our 2025 NFL awards predictions: Who will get recognized for their elite performances?

We finally made it. The 2025 NFL regular season kicks off tonight as the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles host the Dallas Cowboys. Each year comes with players who disappoint, and others that exceed expectations. Who will take home hardware for their performances this season? Here are our predictions.

	Nick Roesch	Wes Roesch	Adam Zientek
MVP	Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow	Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson	Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen
Offensive Player of the Year	Detroit Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs	Atlanta Falcons RB Bijan Robinson	Philadelphia Eagles RB Saquon Barkley
Defensive Player of the Year	Los Angeles Rams LB Jared Verse	Green Bay Packers LB Micah Parsons	Green Bay Packers LB Micah Parsons
Offensive Rookie of the Year	Las Vegas Raiders RB Ashton Jeanty	Las Vegas Raiders RB Ashton Jeanty	Jacksonville Jaguars WR/CB Travis Hunter
Defensive Rookie of the Year	San Francisco 49ers DE Mykel Williams	New York Giants LB Abdul Carter	New York Giants LB Abdul Carter
Protector of the Year	Kansas City Chiefs C Creed Humphrey	Detroit Lions RT Penei Sewell	Buffalo Bills LT Dion Dawkins
Comeback Player of the Year	Detroit Lions DE Aidan Hutchinson	Detroit Lions DE Aidan Hutchinson	Detroit Lions DE Aidan Hutchinson
Coach of the Year	New England Patriots HC Mike Vrabel	New England Patriots HC Mike Vrabel	Chicago Bears HC Ben Johnson

Nick’s award winners prediction explained:

The main thing that held Burrow back from winning MVP last season was the Bengals not making the playoffs. I believe Cincinnati breaks through into the postseason this year, making voters feel more comfortable voting for Burrow. There’s no reason to believe that he won’t put up gaudy statistics yet again in 2025 with weapons such as Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Mike Gesicki.

Gibbs has put up insane stats over the past two seasons despite sharing the workload with David Montgomery. It is being heavily speculated that Montgomery will cede touches to Gibbs moving forward, as Gibbs is younger and more explosive. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets to or near the 2,000-yard rushing mark, with double-digit touchdowns.

Verse burst onto the scene last year, winning Defensive Rookie of the Year. As an encore, I believe he elevates to Defensive Player of the Year. Verse has great players around him such as Poona Ford and Kobie Turner to help open things up for him. Verse has an excellent blend of power and quickness and is a matchup nightmare for offensive linemen.

The same could be said for Williams, who I believe will take the league by storm as a rookie. With All-Pro Nick Bosa on the other side, Williams will have plenty of opportunities to cash in on sacks. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh will maximize his abilities.

As for the Offensive Rookie of the Year, Jeanty is the favorite for a reason. He dominated the college ranks, and is already the undisputed lead RB for the Raiders. Jeanty should be the centerpiece of Las Vegas’ offense, and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly will get him the ball both on the ground and through the air.

I have the newly created Protector of the Year going to Humphrey, who is undoubtedly the best center in the NFL. At 26 years old, Humphrey is in his prime and is coming off an All-Pro season in 2024. He will lead the way for the Chiefs’ revamped offensive line in 2025, as Kansas City’s offense should get back to its explosive ways.

2025’s Comeback Player of the Year is an obvious one in my opinion. Hutchinson appeared to be on his way to winning Defensive Player of the Year last season before going down with a broken leg. If he stays healthy, he’ll be one of the most dominant pass rushers in the league.

Finally, I have Vrabel winning Coach of the Year. This award has become controversial as many criticize how it just goes to the coach who does the best job of increasing the win total of a bad team the year before. I think that trend continues with Vrabel, but he has enough of a track record where we know he’s a good coach. I think the Patriots sneak in as a wildcard team this year, and I give them an outside shot of upsetting the Bills for the AFC East division title.

Wes’ award winners prediction explained:

Jackson could have (and some think should have) won MVP last year, but deciding between him and Josh Allen was basically a coin flip. Jackson put up the best numbers of his career last year and is poised to have a similar season in 2025, so it’ll take another Allen-like performance for another QB to slip in and take the award from him.

Bijan Robinson seems like a good pick for OPOTY considering the awesome year he had in 2024 — it looks like he’ll again be the main focus of Atlanta’s offense. Micah Parsons is my favorite for DPOTY, with him looking to crush competition and prove to the Cowboys that they made a huge mistake by trading him. OROTY and DROTY seemed almost too easy to pick, with Ashton Jeanty and Abdul Carter as the clear leads for their respective sides of the ball.

Protector OTY is the most interesting award this year, the first time it will be awarded. There are plenty of good candidates, but I settled on Penei Sewell who has been unstoppable for the Lions. Another Lion, Aidan Hutchinson, seems to be a shoo-in for Comeback POTY, barring something crazy happening. And finally, Mike Vrabel is my favorite for Coach of the Year — I predict that Vrabel will turn the Pats around and not only make the playoffs, but fight for the AFC East as well.

Adam’s award winners prediction explained:

2025 is going to be a wild year in the NFL. Josh Allen takes home back-to-back MVP trophies as the Bills are dominant throughout the regular season, with Allen putting on his Superman cape and getting back to work. Unlike last year, it won’t be highly debated and he’ll win it handily. For Defensive Player of the Year, it was just too much fun putting Parsons up there. Jerry Jones and the Cowboys handling of the entire situation will look even worse when the year ends as Parsons takes home the trophy.

For Offensive Player of the Year we all thought that Barkley’s hurdle in 2024 was incredible, but how he followed it up in 2025 will be even better. He’s a one-man wrecking crew and it’s no wonder the NFL Top 100 had him at the top spot. It’s the year of Barkley, again. Moving on to Rookie of the Year, this was just more wishful thinking. Hunter coming in at a receiver and a cornerback is such an intriguing play. While he was able to flourish in college, it’ll be interesting to see what happens throughout his NFL career.

Nevertheless, I predict that he’ll be able to do both well enough to earn him the reward. Bears fans rejoice! In my prediction I have Ben Johnson winning Coach of the Year after a surprising year from Chicago. Caleb Williams and his new-look offense will make waves throughout the NFL and Johnson will easily take home the hardware after turning things around for the organization.

And last but not least, Aidan Hutchinson. To be honest with you, this award feels like a joke at times with Joe Flacco winning over Damar Hamlin after Hamlin nearly died on a football field. I digress, Hutchinson comes back with a vengeance and helps the Detroit defense continue on its Cinderalla run started in 2024, before the Commanders wiped that all away in the postseason. Hutchinson earns some Defensive Player of the Year votes, but ultimately comes home with the Comeback Player of the Year.

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