MVPs for all 32 NFL teams in 2025 season: Drake Maye, Matthew Stafford lead way

All we have left is one more game on the docket before the 2025 season comes to a close. Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be dissecting every angle of Super Bowl LX between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots. Before we cannonball into that matchup, however, let’s take a look back at the year that was, shall we? 

While both Seattle and New England are still playing, 30 other teams have already put a bow on their campaigns and are in the evaluation process as they prepare for 2026. Most of that evaluation centers around what prevented them from reaching the Super Bowl, but we’re going take a glass-half-full approach and highlight what went right, identifying team-specific MVPs for the regular season. 

Arizona Cardinals

It was tough sledding for the Cardinals in 2026, finishing with a 3-14 record, which led to the firing of head coach Jonathan Gannon. While the results were lackluster, Trey McBride continues to be a bright spot. The 26-year-old has put himself firmly in the conversation as the best tight end in the NFL. He’s coming off a 2025 regular season where he just set the single-season receptions record with 126 grabs. That, of course, topped his position group, but those 126 receptions were also second among all pass catchers, only looking up to Puka Nacua. McBride’s 1,239 yards receiving had him finish sixth among all pass catchers as well, making him one of the best skill-position players the league has to offer. 

Atlanta Falcons

Robinson continues to climb the ladder among his peers and is threatening for the belt as the NFL’s top running back. In 2025, he notched his first All-Pro nomination, earning first-team honors after a career year. Robinson’s 1,478 yards rushing were a new career high, as was his 5.1 yards per carry. What was most impressive about his season, however, was his elevation in the receiving game. Robinson had 79 receptions for 820 yards and four touchdowns this season. Over his first two years in the league, Robinson compiled 918 yards receiving, so he nearly topped that in just this season alone. That leap as a pass catcher helped him lead the NFL with 2,298 yards from scrimmage. 

Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore couldn’t find its footing this season due largely to injuries to key members of the roster, most notably Lamar Jackson. That contributed to the the Ravens being in a win-or-go-home matchup in Week 18 with the Steelers, and Tyler Loop’s missed game-winner eliminated them from playoff contention, and triggered the departure of John Harbaugh. While the Ravens are entering a new era with Jesse Minter as head coach, the former Chargers DC will love what he’s getting in Hamilton. The safety was a first-team All-Pro for the second time in his young career, and continues to stuff the stat sheet. According to Pro Football Focus’ metrics, Hamilton was the best coverage defender in the NFL in 2025, ranking first in lockdown rate. 

Buffalo Bills

Buffalo had a golden opportunity slip through its fingers this season with the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, and Joe Burrow — previous postseason thorns in its side — out of the playoff picture. Still, the Bills were unable to break through, and that resulted in the firing of Sean McDermott. While Allen didn’t play well in the playoff loss to Denver, I think the superstar quarterback was pressing because he didn’t have much to work with around him. Allen is still arguably the most talented signal-caller we have in the NFL, and Buffalo is likely nowhere near the postseason if not for him thrusting his team to victory despite its talent deficiency. 

Carolina Panthers

We’ll have a lot of teams with obvious MVPs, but we’re going a bit under-the-radar here with Carolina. Sure, the Panthers reached the postseason thanks to solid play from the likes of Bryce Young, Tetairoa McMillan, and others, but don’t sleep on Mike Jackson. After being acquired before the 2024 season, the corner went up a level in 2025, proving to be a key No. 2 option opposite of Jaycee Horn. He started every game for Carolina and finished with a league-leading 19 pass breakups to go along with a career-high four interceptions. Per TruMedia, Jackson allowed just a 55.4 passer rating when targeted as the primary defender in coverage. 

Chicago Bears

We have Joe Thuney highlighted, but we’re giving this team-MVP award to the entire offensive line. One of the major issues for Caleb Williams over his rookie season was protection, being sacked a league-leading 68 times in 2024. After heavy investment in the trenches, bringing in Thuney, Drew Dalman and Jonah Jackson, the protection was fixed overnight. The unit surrendered 24 sacks on the year, which was the second-fewest in the league. The Bears O-line also gave passers an average of 3.29 seconds to throw, which was the most in the NFL. That helped Williams’ Year 2 leap and was a key reason why Chicago won the NFC North. 

Cincinnati Bengals

It was another lost season for the Bengals due to Joe Burrow missing nine games with a left toe injury. While he didn’t have his starting quarterback for more than half the season, Chase continues to be among the best receivers in the NFL. The wideout finished fourth in receiving yards and third in receptions. Chase joined Randy Moss as the only players with at least 1,000 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns in each of their first five seasons in the NFL. 

Cleveland Browns

Twenty-three sacks. Need we say more? Myles Garrett continues to be the defensive player of his generation and just had a record-setting 2025 regular season, breaking the sack record. This was Garrett’s eighth straight season with at least 10 sacks, sixth straight season with 12 or more sacks, and fifth-straight season with 14 or more sacks. Dominant. For a team that is perpetually looking for a quarterback, they can at least find solace that they are watching one of the all-time great defenders in his prime. 

Dallas Cowboys

After a hamstring injury ended his season in 2024, Prescott bounced back nicely in 2025. His 4,552 passing yards were the third-highest of his career, and had him finish third among all quarterbacks. He’s also now just one of 10 quarterbacks all time with three seasons with 4,500 yards passing. Prescott’s 30 touchdowns were the fourth most in the NFL. So, while the Cowboys were constantly reeling from the Micah Parsons blockbuster on defense, Prescott was able to keep them in games with his play under center.   

Denver Broncos

The Broncos set a franchise record in sacks during the 2025 season, and Bonitto was a big reason why this unit wrote itself into the record books. The pass rusher logged his second double-digit sack season in 2025, posting a career-high 14 sacks over 17 games played. That was the fifth most in the entire NFL and helped him earn a Pro Bowl nod. Bonitto’s 76 pressures also ranked eighth-highest in the NFL. 

Detroit Lions

Gibbs was a touchdown machine for the Lions this season, tallying 18 scores from scrimmage. That was second only to Jonathan Taylor over the regular season, and gave Gibbs 49 for his career. That’s the most in a player’s first three seasons in NFL history. Gibbs finished fifth in total yards from scrimmage, showing how much of a dual-threat back he’s blossomed into since coming into the league as a first-rounder in 2023. As a pure rusher, Gibbs averaged 5.0 yards per carry. 

Green Bay Packers

We got to see in real time how valuable Parsons was to Green Bay’s offense. With him, the Packers went 9-4-1 and allowed 20.1 points per game. After he went down with a torn ACL and missed the final four games, the team went 0-4 over that stretch (including playoffs) and gave up 27.5 points per game, meaning he was a full touchdown difference. Green Bay also averaged 2.4 sacks per game with Parsons and just one per game without him. Once he returns to full strength, this Packers defense should be as fearsome as any in the league, with Parsons leading the way. 

Houston Texans

Anderson was an absolute monster this season. The Texans pass rusher set career highs in sacks (12.0), tackles for loss (20), and quarterback hits (23) this season. His 93 pressures were third-best in the NFL, and his 70 hurries (via PFF) were the most among all pass rushers. Anderson was a big reason why Houston finished the season second in points allowed per game (17.4). His breakout into superstardom also couldn’t have come at a better time, as he enters this offseason eligible for an extension. 

Indianapolis Colts

For a minute, Taylor looked like the runaway favorite for Offensive Player of the Year. However, in the aftermath of Daniel Jones going down for the season due to an Achilles injury, Taylor’s production slowed down the stretch. During Indy’s 8-2 start to the year, Taylor led the league with 113.9 rushing yards per game and 15 rushing touchdowns. During the 0-7 finish, however, he averaged 63.7 rushing yards per game and had just three rushing scores. Still, that doesn’t mask just how much of a force he was for the bulk of the year. He had the third-most rushing yards and the most rushing touchdowns this season. 

Jacksonville Jaguars

One of the many successes of Liam Coen’s first season as head coach of the Jaguars was that he was able to get Trevor Lawrence back on track. The quarterback started to look like the player folks were hoping he’d be when he was drafted No. 1 overall out of Clemson, particularly down the stretch as Jacksonville finished first in the AFC South at 13-4. Lawrence was sixth in the NFL in passing yards and fifth in passing touchdowns. Over his final eight games to finish the regular season, Lawrence was 8-0, averaged 251.1 passing yards per game, had 19 passing touchdowns, just five interceptions, and five rushing touchdowns. 

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs hit a wall in 2025, and the entire roster seemed tired throughout key points of the year. While they found themselves on the outside looking in on the playoffs, Mahomes was still the straw that stirs the drink of the entire organization and propped up quite a few flaws, as evident in their 0-3 record following his departure down the stretch. Mahomes’ 258.5 passing yards per game average was the fifth-highest among quarterbacks this season. His torn ACL in the final moments of their Week 15 matchup with the Chargers, which eliminated them from playoff contention, was salt on the wound of a rough year for the franchise. 

Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders tried to bring themselves up to respectability by acquiring Geno Smith and hiring Pete Carroll as head coach, but it blew up in their face. Las Vegas finished with the worst record in the NFL, but Crosby was still able to put together another strong season. The veteran pass rusher had 10 sacks over 15 games played and 53 total pressures. That helped him to his fifth-straight Pro Bowl nod. While Crosby is our Raiders MVP, it will be fascinating to see what his future with the organization holds this offseason, particularly in the wake of the team shutting him down at the end of the year to his chagrin. 

Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers were dealt a bad hand on the injury front, losing both Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt. That contributed to Justin Herbert being under siege for the majority of the season. Herbert was sacked 54 times (third-most), hit 129 times (most), and pressured 263 times (most). Still, he finished ninth in passing yards, tied for seventh in passing touchdowns, and set a career high with 498 yards rushing. 

Los Angeles Rams

Stafford is the odds-on favorite to win NFL MVP, so naturally, he’s also the Rams MVP. The veteran quarterback led the league in passing yards and passing touchdowns, while his 109.2 passer rating was second, and only looked up to MVP competitor Drake Maye. That elite play from Stafford helped L.A. to a 12-5 record and a playoff berth. The Rams were able to pull out some thrilling wins over the first two rounds of the playoffs, but couldn’t edge out the Seahawks in the NFC Championship. Even in defeat, however, Stafford was stellar, throwing for 374 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions in the conference title game. 

Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins are at a crossroads after firing Mike McDaniel, hiring Jeff Hafley, and likely moving on from Tua Tagovailoa. While there is plenty of turnover, one of Miami’s building blocks remains De’Von Achane, who is coming off a career season in 2025. The third-year back totaled 1,350 rushing yards, which were a career high, as was his 1,838 yards from scrimmage. Those rushing yard totals were the most of any Dolphins player in a season since Ricky Williams in 2003. Achane’s 5.7 yards per carry also led the league. 

Minnesota Vikings

Jefferson’s numbers were down compared to the historic pace he’s had to begin his career, but the wideout is still the key cog of Minnesota’s offense. The LSU product dealt with inconsistency at quarterback, but still topped 1,000 yards receiving for the sixth straight year. Jefferson’s 1,048 yards receiving in 2025 were just outside of the top 10 in the league (12th).

New England Patriots

Maye is in contention for NFL MVP alongside Stafford and has remarkably brought the Patriots to Super Bowl LX. New England’s success in 2025 can be credited, in part, to the arrival of Mike Vrabel, but his presence means little if Maye doesn’t take this seismic Year 2 leap. Maye led the NFL in passer rating, completion percentage, and EPA per dropback. He helped take a 4-13 Patriots team in 2024 to a 14-3 record in 2025, which had them in first place in the AFC East and now playing for a Lombardi Trophy. 

New Orleans Saints

The Saints struck gold in Shough, seemingly landing a starting-caliber quarterback in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft. He started nine games for New Orleans and led them to a 5-4 record over that stretch. Since becoming the starter in Week 9, Shough completed 69.2% of his passes, averaged 250.7 passing yards per game, had 10 passing touchdowns, and had just five interceptions. If you project out his 2,256 passing yards over that nine-game sample over the course of a full season, Shough was on pace for 4,261 yards. For reference, that would’ve had him finish fifth in the league, above Sam Darnold and just behind Drake Maye, the two quarterbacks starting in Super Bowl LX.  

New York Giants

For a team that went 4-13 and finished last in the NFC East, there’s a lot to be optimistic about with the Giants. The team moved on from Brian Daboll midseason and has since hired John Harbaugh as head coach. Harbaugh inherits a roster oozing with talent at key areas, most notably under center with Jaxson Dart. While Dart and the up-and-coming weapons on offense may garner most of the attention, don’t sleep on the array of talent along the defensive line. In particular, Brian Burns has been one of the most feared pass rushers in the NFL and was a stud for New York in 2025. He was top four in the league in sacks (16.5), quarterback hits (31), and tackles for a loss (22). While he wasn’t a finalist this year, Burns is a yearly threat for Defensive Player of the Year. 

New York Jets

There wasn’t a lot to celebrate with the Jets in 2025 as the team meandered to a 3-14 record, finishing last in the AFC East. The organization got no closer to finding a long-term answer at quarterback with Justin Fields flopping, and moved on from a couple of notable figures at the trade deadline in Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams. All that said, Breece Hall was a consistent weapon for them offensively. At times, he was their entire offense, most notably throwing the game-winning touchdown against the Bengals in Week 8. Hall finished with 1,415 yards from scrimmage and five total touchdowns. The big question is whether or not Hall will remain with the Jets in 2026 as he looks at unrestricted free agency this offseason.  

Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia’s offense was in a state of flux throughout the year, but its defense proved to be its foundation for another NFC East title. Specifically, the Eagles pass defense was first in completion percentage (56.8%) and passing touchdowns allowed (14), while ranking fifth in yards per attempt (6.4). At the center of that strong secondary was Mitchell. The Eagles’ corner was a first-team All-Pro in 2025 after leading all DBs with a 39.6% completion percentage allowed (min. 100 coverage snaps). He didn’t allow a passing touchdown all year.  

Pittsburgh Steelers

The numbers won’t exactly jump off the page, and the back didn’t even lead Pittsburgh in rushing or scrimmage yards. However, if you watched the Steelers in 2025, you understand that Gainwell was the catalyst for a lot of what they wanted to do offensively. The veteran had a career- year with 537 yards rushing, along with his 1,023 yards from scrimmage. Gainwell truly made his mark in the Pittsburgh passing game, leading the team with 73 receptions. He finished the year tied with Jaylen Warren for the team lead in total touchdowns (8). 

San Francisco 49ers

It was another season where the 49ers were snakebitten by injuries, but they were somehow able to stay afloat and reach the divisional round. A big reason for that success, despite an onslaught of injuries, was Christian McCaffrey being a do-it-all fixture on offense. McCaffrey led the NFL with 413 total touches (most since DeMarco Murray in 2014) and turned that into 2,126 yards from scrimmage and 17 total touchdowns. This was McCaffrey’s third season with at least 2,000 scrimmage yards, tying LaDainian Tomlinson for the most all time. He nearly recorded his second-career season with at least 1,000 yards receiving and rushing (had 924 yards receiving in 2025). 

Seattle Seahawks

Smith-Njigba is now firmly in the conversation as the best receiver in the NFL. After Seattle moved on from both DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, the 2023 first-round pick took that increased workload and put together a historic season. His 1,793 yards receiving not only led the league but set a new single-season franchise record, blowing away Metcalf’s previous record of 1,303 yards. Smith-Njigba continues to put up monster numbers and remains one more efficient receivers in the NFL, despite a league-leading 35.8% target share. His eye-popping 153 yards receiving on 10 catches in the NFC Championship tells you all you need to know about this budding 23-year-old star. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Bucs stumbled down the stretch and found themselves on the outside looking in on the playoffs, but one of the encouraging developments of 2025 was that they have seemingly found yet another stud wide receiver. Emeka Egbuka was receiving rave reviews throughout training camp, and we quickly saw why as he burst onto the scene as a rookie. Egbuka first flashed with a 101-yard outing in Week 4 and followed that up with 163 yards receiving in Week 5 against Seattle. As Tampa Bay dealt with injuries to the receiver room, with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin going down, Egbuka did an admirable job holding down the fort. 

Tennessee Titans

One of the more underrated pieces to the second half of the 2025 regular season was the mini breakout of Cam Ward. The No. 1 overall pick was a bit sluggish out of the gate for Tennessee, posting six total touchdowns and 12 turnovers over his first 10 starts. Over his final six full games played (played just five snaps in Week 18), Ward had 10 total touchdowns and just two turnovers. Ward flashed enough that Tennessee should feel confident in a true Year 2 leap, especially if new head coach Robert Saleh and the front office can surround him with talent with their league-leading $101 million in cap space this offseason. 

Washington Commanders 

Washington pulled off a blockbuster trade to land Tunsil last offseason, and while Jayden Daniels’ injury derailed the season, the move did pay off for the Commanders. No matter who was under center, Tunsil was a sturdy wall on the blindside. He allowed just two sacks and 12 total pressures on the season. Once Daniels returns to full strength in 2026, he’ll have stellar protection at left tackle, which should help them rebound to being a playoff threat.