AP Award Finalists Announced for 2025 NFL Season

January 22, 2026

AP Award Finalists Announced for 2025 NFL Season

Winners to Be Revealed During NFL Honors Presented by Invisalign on Thursday, Feb. 5

NEW YORK — Jan. 22, 2026 — The NFL and The Associated Press have announced the finalists for their annual accolades for the 2025 NFL season. Award winners will be announced at NFL Honors presented by Invisalign, an Align Technology brand, on Thursday, Feb. 5 at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. NFL Honors, the league’s primetime awards special, will air at 9 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. CT on NBC and NFL Network, with streaming available on Peacock and NFL+.

Prior to the award presentations, the NFL Honors Red Carpet Show presented by Invisalign will air at 8 p.m. ET on NFL Network leading up to NFL Honors. Local blackout restrictions may apply. The NFL Honors program will not air live in all time zones.

The full list of awards and finalists include:


AP Most Valuable Player presented by Invisalign	Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars Drake Maye, QB, New England Patriots Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers Matthew Stafford, QB, Los Angeles Rams
AP Coach of the Year	Liam Coen, Jacksonville Jaguars Ben Johnson, Chicago Bears Mike Macdonald, Seattle Seahawks Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers Mike Vrabel, New England Patriots
AP Assistant Coach of the Year	Vic Fangio, Philadelphia Eagles Brian Flores, Minnesota Vikings Vance Joseph, Denver Broncos Klint Kubiak, Seattle Seahawks Josh McDaniels, New England Patriots
AP Comeback Player of the Year	Stefon Diggs, WR, New England Patriots Aidan Hutchinson, DE, Detroit Lions Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys
AP Defensive Player of the Year presented by TCL	Will Anderson Jr., DE, Houston Texans Nik Bonitto, LB, Denver Broncos Myles Garrett, DE, Cleveland Browns Aidan Hutchinson, DE, Detroit Lions Micah Parsons, DL, Green Bay Packers
AP Offensive Player of the Year presented by Microsoft Copilot	Drake Maye, QB, New England Patriots Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers Puka Nacua, WR, Los Angeles Rams Bijan Robinson, RB, Atlanta Falcons Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seattle Seahawks
AP Defensive Rookie of the Year presented by EA SPORTS Madden NFL	Abdul Carter, LB, New York Giants Nick Emmanwori, S, Seattle Seahawks James Pearce Jr., DE, Atlanta Falcons Carson Schwesinger, LB, Cleveland Browns Xavier Watts, S, Atlanta Falcons
AP Offensive Rookie of the Year presented by EA SPORTS Madden NFL	Jaxson Dart, QB, New York Giants Emeka Egbuka, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers TreVeyon Henderson, RB, New England Patriots Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Carolina Panthers Tyler Shough, QB, New Orleans Saints

NFL Honors, hosted by Jon Hamm, will also feature the announcement of the prestigious Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year presented by Nationwide, the newest Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026 Announcement presented by Novartis and the new Protector of the Year Award to honor the league’s best offensive lineman in 2025.

As the Official Timepiece Partner of the NFL, Breitling will unveil custom NFL Honors watches for the eight AP Award recipients, as well as the Protector of the Year and the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year presented by Nationwide, with a special timepiece created exclusively for the MVP presented by Invisalign. Crafted for moments that define careers and designed to carry legacy forward, each watch stands as a lasting mark of achievement.

NFL Honors is an NFL Network production in association with Rock Garden Media. For more information about NFL Honors presented by Invisalign, fans may visit www.nfl.com/honors and follow the #NFLHonors conversation on X.

NBC, Peacock, Telemundo and Universo will present Super Bowl LX on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026.

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The Associated Press

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day. Online: http://www.ap.org

Media Contacts:

Paula Ngon, NFL, paula.ngon@nfl.com

Liz McCollum, BZA PR on behalf of the NFL, elizabethm@bzapr.com

Patrick Maks, AP, PMaks@ap.org

Dan Masonson, NBC, Dan.Masonson@nbcuni.co

For more from NFL Communications, visit media.nfl.com