NFL Award Predictions 2025: MVP, Coach of the Year and More after Week 16

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NFL Award Predictions 2025: MVP, Coach of the Year and More after Week 16

NFL Award Predictions 2025: MVP, Coach of the Year and More after Week 16 — Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

Matt Johnson · Sportsnaut

Mon, Dec 22, 2025 ·

5 min read

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The first 16 weeks of the 2025 NFL season are in the books, leaving us with just two more weekends of football before votes for regular-season award winners must be submitted. While plenty change change in the final two games, there seems to be plenty of clear picks for awards like NFL MVP, Offensive Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year right now.

Let's dive into our NFL Award Predictions entering Week 17.

Offensive Player of the Year: Puka Nacua , WR, Los Angeles Rams

One theme with a few of our NFL award predictions is that a few of our picks from a few weeks ago have changed. That includes Offensive Player of the Year, thanks to the scorching-hot stretch that Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua is having on the field. He has put up 573 receiving yards and four touchdowns over the last three games, numbers that now put him within striking distance of Jaxon Smith-Njigba (1,637 receiving yards) for the receiving yardage title in 2025. It is also worth noting that Nacua played one fewer game than JSN this season, but he leads the NFL in receptions (114), first downs (73), and receiving yards per game (113.7) on just two more targets than JSN. This was Smith-Njigba's award to lose a few weeks ago, but he has put up just 324 receiving yards (81 per game) in the last four games.

Second Place:Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seattle Seahawks

Read More: Week 17 Fantasy Rankings

Defensive Player of the Year: Myles Garrett , DE, Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett, who leads the NFL with 32 tackles for loss and 21.5 sacks, is still on pace to break the single-season sack record. It just does not seem like he is going to do it by as wide of a margin as originally projected. To that point, Garrett "only" has 3.5 sacks in the last four games, and a big part of the reason for that is because opponents have run the ball on nearly 55 percent of plays against Cleveland in the last three games. With two games left in the season, Garrett will likely break the single-season sack record (22.5) and has an outside shot of also breaking J.J. Watt's record for the most tackles for loss (39) in a season.

Second Place: Will Anderson Jr , EDGE, Houston Texans

Related: NFL Defense Rankings 2025

NFL MVP: Matthew Stafford , QB, Los Angeles Rams

Drake Maye 's fourth-quarter comeback on Sunday Night Football gives the second-year quarterback a signature moment that makes this an NFL MVP race again. It also helps that the Los Angeles Rams can't hold the No. 1 seed in the NFC, whereas the New England Patriots can in the AFC. Entering Week 17, we're giving the slight edge to Stafford as he leads the NFL in passing yards (4,179) and has eight more passing touchdowns than the next-closest quarterback ( Jared Goff , 32). However, if New England wins out and Maye thrives, this award should probably go to the Patriots' quarterback.

Second Place:Drake Maye, QB, New England Patriots

Read More: NFL Week 17 Predictions

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Tyler Shough , QB, New Orleans Saints

This is another one of our NFL award predictions that has flipped in recent weeks. There is a great case to be made for Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan , who is going to deliver a 1,000-yard rookie season and might be one of the big reasons why the team wins the NFC South. However, we have been even more impressed by Tyler Shough lately. Over his last six starts, the New Orleans Saints quarterback sports an 89.2 passer rating with a 6-4 TD-INT line, two rushing touchdowns, and he has averaged 260 yards per game of total offense. From Weeks 10-16, he ranks seventh among quarterbacks in success rate (46.6 percent), second in completion rate over expectation (3.1 percent), and ninth in adjusted EPA per play . Plus, there is a very real chance that he wins his final two starts, and that would mean a 6-2 record to close out his first season.

Second Place:Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Carolina Panthers

Defensive Rookie of the Year: Carson Schwesinger , LB, Browns

There is a strong case to be made that Cleveland Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger deserves Pro Bowl honors in his first season. After all, he enters Week 17 with the fourth-most tackles for loss (11) among all off-ball linebackers, and he has tacked on two interceptions with 2.5 sacks. Plus, just for good measure, he has been a key part of one of the league's best defenses this season.

Second Place: Nick Emmanwori , DB, Seattle Seahawks

Coach of the Year: Liam Coen, Jacksonville Jaguars

Mike Vrabel does have more wins this season (12) than Liam Coen (11), but we think the more impressive head-coaching job this season comes from the Jacksonville Jaguars. Just look at the transformation Trevor Lawrence has made from his last two seasons under Doug Pederson (3.8 percent TD rate, 87.4 QB rating, and 7.1 yards per attempt) to what he is doing down the stretch this season (9.6 percent TD rate, 120.8 QB rating, and 8.7 yards per attempt) in Coen's system. Plus, the first-year Jaguars head coach also deserves credit for the hiring of defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile, who turned a bottom-five defense last season into a top-10 unit in 2025. There is no "wrong" choice between the two; Coen is just slightly more deserving in our eyes.

Second Place:Mike Vrabel, New England Patriots

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