MVP<\/p>\n
Sam Darnold, QB, Seahawks. With apologies to Jonathan Taylor, we know how this story goes. MVP doesn\u2019t stand for Most Valuable Player anymore. It stands for Most Valuable Quarterback on a 12-win team with a nice storyline. That gives us three frontrunners: Matthew Stafford, Drake Maye and Darnold.<\/p>\n
Stafford is on the kind of run that could see him clinch the award by the end of the year. But right now, Darnold is the pick.<\/p>\n
Some wondered why the Seahawks would voluntarily step off the sturdy, predictable foundation that was Geno Smith and on to the rollercoaster of Darnold. Was Darnold\u2019s breakout in Minnesota for real? Why ditch Geno rather than beefing up his supporting cast? It felt like an unnecessary gamble. You didn\u2019t need to squint to find the takes that, after moving on from Smith, DK Metcalf and their offensive coordinator, the Seahawks had made plenty of high-profile moves but hadn\u2019t fixed their underlying flaws. And yet, 10 weeks in, John Schneider looks like the rare executive who was able to outthink the room.<\/p>\n
Adding Darnold has transformed the Seahawks from a feisty team into one of the two best in the league. Darnold has been sensational \u2013 not good, not serviceable, but the best player at the league\u2019s most valuable position. He leads the league in QBR and big-time throw rate (9.0%). No one has ripped as many high-level throws down the field under pressure. Stafford and Maye have been excellent at driving the ball down the field, but they\u2019ve also had the luxury of open targets more often than Darnold. Darnold has faced a higher pressure rate on deep targets and a higher percentage of tight-window throws overall.<\/p>\n
Sam Darnold has made a number of ridiculous throws this year, but this touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba might top them all. Just insane arm talent getting the ball to the receiver throwing across his body… pic.twitter.com\/59PieIV3JC<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Corbin K. Smith (@CorbinSmithNFL) November 11, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s the aggression that stands out. Darnold hasn\u2019t met a coverage he isn\u2019t keen to shred. At this stage of his career, he\u2019s seen everything defenses will throw his way and has all the answers. He\u2019s roasted the blitz at a league-leading rate and has an almost perfect passer rating when kept clean in the pocket.<\/p>\n At 7-2, the Seahawks have the championship formula. Their defense is humming. They can score on long drives or with chunk plays. And their quarterback has become an elevator rather than a passenger. He has stepped into a new spot and transformed his career for the second season in a row. The two upcoming duels with Stafford will shape the MVP race. But for now, Darnold has the edge.<\/p>\n Offensive Player of the Year<\/p>\n Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts<\/a>. This is how the voters cleanse their conscience: they hand the \u201crunner-up MVP\u201d trophy to the non-quarterback they overlooked. If Saquon Barkley did not win the biggest prize last season, Taylor is unlikely to sniff it this go around. His campaign will be the usual OPOY story: dazzling production, rushing at a historic pace and sealing his team a top seed for the playoffs.<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to divvy up credit for the Colts\u2019 offense between Shane Steichen, the offensive line, Daniel Jones and all the team\u2019s playmakers. But Taylor\u2019s performance in Berlin last week proved that Indy\u2019s renaissance runs through him \u2013 literally. He\u2019s on track for 26 rushing touchdowns and within striking distance of LaDainian Tomlinson\u2019s of 28, set in the 2006 season. He\u2019s the engine of the Colts\u2019 attack, the rare running back who alters the geometry of the defense. And once the ball is in his hands, he\u2019s doing as much damage after contact as he is before it. Without Steichen, the line and the threat of the pass, Taylor\u2019s numbers may not be as gaudy. But his after-contact numbers prove that he is the player that binds together Steichen\u2019s vision.<\/p>\n Defensive Player of the Year<\/p>\n Myles Garrett, Edge, Cleveland Browns<\/a>. Let\u2019s not overthink this one. The pool of candidates this year is deep, but Garrett still lives in a rarefied air all his own. Somehow, he\u2019s putting together the most dominant season of his career. He already has 11 sacks and 24 (!) run stops, while drawing more attention from opposing offenses than any other edge-defender in football.<\/p>\n Whole gameplans are built to mitigate Garrett\u2019s presence, from double and triple teams to how opponents devise their running and passing strategies. None of it has mattered. And the ripple effect of his presence has helped put Cleveland\u2019s defense fourth in the league in EPA\/play, despite having a dysfunctional offense. Sure, the Browns stink. But their record shouldn\u2019t diminish what Garrett is doing. If anything, it underlines it.<\/p>\n Offensive Rookie of the Year<\/p>\n Emeka Egbuka, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a>. Why would a smart, productive receiver at Ohio State not be a success in the NFL? That\u2019s Egbuka in Tampa Bay. What the Bucs weren\u2019t banking on was Egbuka\u2019s big-play potential. He was supposed to slot into the offense as a Professional Receiver, someone happy to do the dirty work to keep an offense churning. Instead, they\u2019ve hit on a super-duper star, who can threaten a defense at all three levels. Egbuka is smooth, sudden and a splash play waiting to happen, averaging 16.9 yards per reception this season. He\u2019s also become the go-to target for Baker Mayfield on third-downs, effectively shedding his \u201crookie\u201d title midway through his first season.<\/p>\n Defensive Rookie of the Year<\/p>\n Carson Schwesinger, LB, Cleveland Browns. Abdul Carter will be the favorite for this award, because edge-rushers always are. Whichever rookie leads his class in sacks or interceptions typically walks away with the hardware, regardless of their down-to-down impact.<\/p>\n But this year should be different. You may have noticed, but linebackers are back, people! As the league trends back towards the run game, defenses are planting heavier bodies on the field. After a barren spell of draft classes at the position, this year\u2019s crop has been a home run. Philly\u2019s Jihaad Campbell is more of a playmaker than Schwesinger and probably has a higher career ceiling. But Cleveland\u2019s rookie has been the cleanest of the duo and has been a linchpin of an outstanding unit from week one. Schwesinger is a springy linebacker who can make plays behind the line of scrimmage or in coverage, something rookies at his position often struggle with.<\/p>\n The general trend is that it takes three years for linebackers to settle. During a nearly half-decade dry spell across the league, it\u2019s been Fred Warner and then everyone else. Last season, Zack Baun appeared from nowhere to jump to Warner\u2019s level<\/a>, switching from the edge to a traditional linebacker role. But Campbell and Schwesinger have walked into the league from day one as if they belong. With his 25 run stops and play-to-play consistency, Schwesinger takes it.<\/p>\n Coach of the Year<\/p>\n Mike Vrabel, New England Patriots<\/a>. Often, the coach of the year award is a mea culpa. We\u2019re sorry our preseason predictions about your team were wrong. But it\u2019s different with Vrabel. Tennessee collapsed in his absence; New England rose in his image. That\u2019s not a coincidence.<\/p>\n The Patriots haven\u2019t stumbled into an 9-2 record and a division lead. There hasn\u2019t been a miracle quarterback boom or fluky turnover luck. What they have is Vrabel\u2019s great gift: structure.<\/p>\n Vrabel joined a hollowed-out franchise, restored order and has turned the Patriots into something formidable. This year\u2019s Patriots are \u201cDTF\u201d<\/a>, at least according to Tony Romo. They are tough, disciplined, well-drilled and creative on both sides of the ball. If not for a bizarre five-turnover game against the Steelers, they would have started 10-1.<\/p>\n To think, six months ago, they were staring at a multi-year rebuild. Before Thursday\u2019s game with the Jets, the Patriots were one of only two teams (along with the Rams) that were in the top 10 in both offensive EPA\/play (eighth) and defensive EPA\/play (eighth). You can point to the soft schedule, but it\u2019s not as if the Patriots entered the season as sure-fire contenders themselves. And they have two of the most impressive wins this season, beating Buffalo and Tampa Bay on the road.<\/p>\n Vrabel\u2019s fingerprints are all over the turnaround. Almost all of his offseason bets have paid off instantly. He remade the defensive front with the offseason additions of Milton Williams, Khyiris Tonga, K\u2019Lavon Chaisson, Harold Landry and Robert Spillane, relying on a group of players he worked with in Tennessee. Only Williams is a blue-chip star, yet the Patriots have the third-best pass defense in the NFL. And they\u2019ve done so despite missing their defensive coordinator, Terrell Williams, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer<\/a> in September. Vrabel has assumed a more prominent role with the defense. But he also entrusted 37-year-old Zak Kuhr, who also came from Tennessee with Vrabel, with play-calling responsibilities in Williams\u2019 absence.<\/p>\n Vrabel also made the call to bring back Josh McDaniels as offensive coordinator, despite his obvious desire to move on from New England\u2019s Belichick days. It\u2019s been a masterstroke; McDaniels has helped unlock Maye\u2019s potential and constructed a top-10 unit without high-wattage talent.<\/p>\n There are precious few examples of franchises having such a sharp about-face in one offseason with such an influx of new players and coaches. And all of those decisions trace back to Vrabel.<\/p>\n