New York – Christian McCaffrey became just the second player to be a finalist for three AP NFL Awards in the same year, joining Josh Allen, Trevor Lawrence, Drake Mayo and Matthew Stafford for The Associated Press 2025 NFL Most Valuable Player Award.
McCaffrey and Maye are also finalists for Offensive Player of the Year. McCaffrey and Lawrence are among the finalists for Comeback Player of the Year.
Winners will be announced at “NFL Honors” on February 5 national panel 50 members of the media who regularly cover the league completed voting prior to the start of the playoffs. The vote was compiled by the accounting firm Lutz and Carr.
Voters picked the top 5 for eight AP NFL awards. First place votes were worth 10 points. Votes for second through fifth place were worth 5, 3, 2, and 1 point, respectively.
Here are the finalists, in alphabetical order, for eight AP NFL honors:
Most Valuable Player
Allen, the reigning MVP, threw for 3,668 yards, 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, posted a 102.2 passer rating and led Buffalo to its seventh straight playoff appearance. He also ran for 14 TDs. The Bills were eliminated from the playoffs by Denver in the divisional round and fired coach Sean McDermott.
Lawrence helped Jacksonville win 13 games and the AFC South title. He had 4,007 yards, 29 TDs and 12 picks. The Jaguars were eliminated by the Bills in the wild card round.
McCaffrey, an All-Purpose All-Pro, ran for 1,202 yards and 10 TDs and caught 102 passes for 924 yards and seven TDs. He was instrumental in helping the injury-depleted San Francisco 49ers win 12 games. He is a finalist for three awards this year, the last time Joe Burrow did it.
Maye had 4,394 yards, 31 TDs and eight picks to lead the New England Patriots to the AFC East title and an appearance in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game. Maye led the NFL in passer rating (113.5) and completion percentage (72).
Stafford led the NFL with 4,707 yards and 46 TDs. He threw eight picks and finished second to Mayo with a passer rating of 109.2. Stafford was the first team All-Pro for the first time in his 17-year career.
Lamar Jackson was a first team All-Pro QB last year, but Allen edged him out for MVP.
Coach of the year
Liam Coen led the Jaguars to a 13-4 record and the division title in his first season, marking a nine-game turnaround for the franchise.
Ben Johnson led the Chicago Bears to an 11-5 record and their first NFC North championship in seven seasons.
Mike Macdonald led the Seattle Seahawks to a 14-3 record and the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The Seahawks host the Rams in the NFC championship game on Sunday.
Kyle Shanahan led the 49ers to 12 wins despite multiple injuries to key players, including the loss of defensive stars Nick Bosa and Fred Warner for the season.
Mike Vrabel, the 2021 AP NFL Coach of the Year, led the Patriots from worst to first, a 10-win turnaround in his first season with the team.
Assistant Coach of the Year
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels are finalists.
Comeback Player of the Year
Lawrence, McCaffrey, Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs, Lions 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 major part of the NFL’s No. 1 defense.
Broncos edge rusher Nik Bonitto had 14 sacks for the league’s second-leading defense.
Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett, a unanimous All-Pro selection, set a single-season record with 23 sacks and had 33 tackles for loss. He was the 2023 AP Defensive Player of the Year.
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 Nacua, Bijan Robinson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba join Maye and McCaffrey as finalists.
Nacua and Smith-Njigba were unanimous All-Pro selections.
Nacua led the NFL with 129 catches for 1,715 yards and 10 TDs for the Rams. Smith-Njigba caught 119 passes and led the league with 1,793 receiving yards and had 10 TDs.
An All-Pro running back, Robinson led the NFL with 2,298 yards from scrimmage. He ran for 1,478 yards and seven TDs and caught 79 passes for 820 yards and four scores.
Defensive Rookie of the Year
Giants edge rusher Abdul Carter, Seahawks defensive back Nick Emmanwori, Falcons edge rusher James Pearce Jr., Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger and Falcons safety Xavier Watts are finalists.
Offensive Rookie of the Year
Finalists Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart, Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson, Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan and Saints quarterback Tyler Shough.
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