2025 Season Awards Tournament: OPOY, OROY, DPOY, COY (FINALS/SUPER BOWL)
Each year, I go division by division and nominate who I believe is each team’s candidate for the major NFL awards and then we discuss/declare who the division’s major award winner is for the season…and that player goes onto the divisional Final Four with a chance to go to the Super Bowl/Finals for a chance to be declared my seasonal award winner.
We go division-by-division each day, then to the Final Four for each conference, then the finals to name our winner the day the NFL announces their winners. *And my choices are usually different up and down the line in each category, so enjoy a different take on the NFL awards.
*Coach of the Year (any coach on the staff, not just the head coach)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUPER BOWL: 2025 Season Awards Tournament: Offensive Player of the Year
NFC FINALIST: QB Caleb Williams, CHI
AFC FINALIST: QB Drake Maye, NE
By the stats...Maye defeats Caleb in every key statistical line. But then by the stats only, shouldn’t Matt Stafford be here.
Do I pick the guy with the big stats (Maye) or do I pick the guy with really good stats and who was superhuman in the 2nd-half and 4th-quarters of games?
There is an absolute case for either guy...and for Stafford...but to make a decision, I asked myself: 1:24 left in the game, down 4 points, needing a TD to win, on their given teams...against let’s say the Texans defense, which QB would I want?
FFM’s 2025 Season OPOY = QB Caleb Williams, CHI
------------------------------
SUPER BOWL: 2025 Season Awards Tournament: Rookie of the Year
NFC FINALIST: QB Jaxson Dart, NYG
AFC FINALIST: RB Ashton Jeanty, LV
Jeanty had a nice season given his awful circumstances, but it’s so incredibly difficult for a QB to walk into a starting role right away and just flourish, remake a team, give them hope.
Ward and Shough deserve a lot of credit too, but Dart was near-instantly great after like his 2nd-3rd start around Week 5 or so (and he had a major upset of LAC in his debut too). Ward and Shough didn’t start clicking or playing until later in the season. I really respect what Dart did here. He won’t even be top 3 in the NFL voting, I’m sure...but he’s my ROY.
FFM’s 2025 Season ROY = QB Jaxson Dart, NYG
------------------------------
SUPER BOWL: 2025 Season Awards Tournament: Defensive Player of the Year
NFC FINALIST: CB Quinyon Mitchell, PHI
AFC FINALIST: CB Pat Surtain, DEN
The battle of top CBs...and Quinyon Mitchell’s grades and metrics soundly defeat Surtain.
FFM’s 2025 Season DPOY = CB Quinyon Mitchell, PHI
------------------------------
SUPER BOWL: 2025 Season Awards Tournament: Coach of the Year
NFC FINALIST: HC Ben Johnson, CHI
AFC FINALIST: HC Mike Vrabel, NE
I’m gonna force myself to not do a ‘co-winners’, but this should be co-winners. Everything you can say about one, you could say about the other for their free agency skills, and QB development, and wins-losses.
I’m going to lean it towards Ben Johnson because of a difficult schedule in a way more difficult conference. Everyone expected the Patriots to finish second place and be a wild card...there were already expectations, and much of that built on a very easy schedule outlook which came more true than people could even imagine.
The Bears were expected to finish last with no real chance to topple what was expected to be three playoff teams in the Lions, Packers, and Vikings...and yet in one season Ben Johnson took them all down.
FFM’s 2025 Season COY = HC Ben Johnson, CHI
