Similar to 2024, another spirited MVP debate is taking shape.
There are also several good candidates for the 2025 Comeback Player of the Year.
And, in case you missed it, a new award will be handed out after this season for the first time.
Entering its second month, the 2025 NFL season hasn’t exactly been awash in superlatives.
Only two teams, the Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles, survived September unscathed … well, in terms of their 4-0 records anyway. Some of the league’s biggest stars – Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Jayden Daniels, CeeDee Lamb, Malik Nabers and Tyreek Hill, to name just few – have been hit by injuries. Others (Saquon Barkley, Brian Thomas Jr., C.J. Stroud) have been figuratively MIA.
Such is the state of the NFL, when the first few weeks are now often typified by choppy play as veterans settle in and rookies figure things out in an era when September often effectively serves as preseason. Nevertheless, even though 14 weeks remain until ballots are officially submitted, a few players have begun to emerge as leading candidates for the league’s most prestigious individual awards.
Here are our (very premature) choices for MVP, rookies of the year, Protector of the Year and several more:
Assistant Coach of the Year – Jim Schwartz, Cleveland Browns
Will anyone from the lowly Brown ultimately be lauded when all is said and done? Likely not. But this a good time to recognize one of the league’s best assistants, a guy who should certainly be under consideration for perhaps it’s most anonymous award. Schwartz’s defense has been remarkable – ranked No. 1 overall while giving up nearly 22 fewer yards per game than the next-closest team (and, for the analytics crowd, quite high on the DVOA scale). It’s all the more notable given how poor Cleveland’s offense, which has scored the second-fewest points in the league and was just turned over to rookie QB Dillon Gabriel, has been.
Coach of the Year – Shane Steichen, Indianapolis Colts
Personally, I know I didn’t give his team an ice cube’s chance in perdition. But not only have the Colts survived with Daniel “Indiana” Jones at quarterback, they’ve excelled – Steichen’s offense not punting during its first two games and new coordinator Lou Anarumo breathing life into the defense. If the season ended today – it doesn’t – the Colts would be the AFC South champs and a No. 3 playoff seed. Nice to see Steichen’s team finally justifying his reputation as a topflight play-caller.
Protector of the Year – OT Joe Alt, Los Angeles Chargers
This will be the first season the league will recognize an offensive lineman for individual excellence. The finalists and winner will be determined by a panel of retired blockers, Andrew Whitworth and Jason Kelce among them, who will evaluate metrics like blocking win rates while factoring in team success, leadership and durability, among other considerations.
As it pertains to Alt? Yes, he’s going to miss some time with a high ankle sprain, though I’d wager it won’t be much. Regardless, to this point, he’s already shifted from right tackle to the left side, which he played at Notre Dame, following the season-ending knee injury regular LT Rashawn Slater suffered in training camp. The results? Alt was exceptionally good prior to going down in Week 4, and the offense of the AFC West-leading Bolts was far more multi-dimensional than the ground-and-pound unit it often was last year.
Comeback Player of the Year – RB Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers
For a guy who’s often battled durability issues during his career, including various Achilles and knee problems in 2024, he and the Niners have certainly – and probably necessarily – thrown caution to the wind. CMC, who’s already played five games after Thursday night’s win over the Rams, leads the NFL with 130 touches and 669 yards from scrimmage. Hard to believe McCaffrey will remain on a pace for 442 touches, which would be the most in the league since DeMarco Murray had 449 (in 16 games) in 2014. Regardless, it’s been a selfless performance for a depleted team that nevertheless tops the NFC West and, if McCaffrey survives the season, might get him some MVP love.
Defensive Rookie of the Year – S Xavier Watts, Atlanta Falcons
The only freshman with multiple picks so far this season, the third-rounder out of Notre Dame is also among rookie leaders with 17 tackles. He’s certainly solidified the back end of an Atlanta D that currently ranks second in the league overall.
Offensive Rookie of the Year – WR Emeka Egbuka, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Defensive Player of the Year – DE Aidan Hutchinson, Detroit Lions
Another strong candidate, along with Cowboys QB Dak Prescott, for the comeback award after Hutchinson broke his leg at Dallas a year ago. He’s currently among the league’s leaders with four sacks and 23 pressures (per PFF). The fumble Hutchinson forced out of RB Derrick Henry’s grasp in a Week 3 win at Baltimore helped to turn the tide of that game. It’s also worth wondering if his production will only mushroom once he fully gets his sea legs back under him after missing 12 games and the playoffs in 2024.
Offensive Player of the Year – WR Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams
His numbers, to a degree, also reflect the benefit of playing a fifth game already, though Nacua’s showing Thursday (10 catches, 85 yards, TD) was probably his most modest in an otherwise sterling season. With a league-best 52 receptions and 588 receiving yards, Nacua is on pace to shatter the single-season record for catches (149) and also has a shot to be the first 2,000-yard receiver in league history.
League MVP – QB Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
Want to quibble with this choice? By all means – so am I. We all know a four-week sample size is way too small to make a determination for an award that will surely continue engendering debate four months from now. But in the moment, sure feels like we could be headed to a repeat of 2024, when Josh Allen was named MVP even though Lamar Jackson was voted the league’s first-team All-Pro quarterback – and, admittedly, I gave my MVP vote to Jackson last year.
By the numbers, and certainly from a passing perspective, Allen is the better player right now – and anyone backing his MVP candidacy is on fully solid ground. But Hurts’ Eagles are equally undefeated. They’ve also played a drastically tougher schedule than Buffalo, will get everyone’s best shot as the reigning champs, and Hurts is also adapting to new coordinator Kevin Patullo. Nevertheless, Hurts has accounted for nine touchdowns (against one turnover) and done whatever is required to notch a win – including quietly (publicly anyway) continuing to set tone for this locker room. If Philadelphia’s offense starts clicking, and WR A.J. Brown starts getting his numbers, too? Great. But Hurts, God bless him, only cares about that win column. What better way to evaluate an MVP hopeful?