On Thursday, the Associated Press and NFL announced their finalists for this year’s crop of year-end awards, which will be handed out at this year’s NFL Honors show during Super Bowl week in the Bay Area.
The Patriots (14-3) have finalists for six different awards for the 2025 season:
2025 AP Most Valuable Player - Drake Maye
2025 AP Coach of the Year - Mike Vrabel
2025 AP Assistant Coach of the Year - Josh McDaniels
2025 AP Comeback Player of the Year - Stefon Diggs
2025 AP Offensive Player of the Year - Drake Maye
2025 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year - TreVeyon Henderson
Maye appearing twice on this list should come as no surprise to anyone who has watched him this season, leading the NFL in completion percentage (72.0%), yards per completion (8.9), QBR (77.2) and passer rating (113.5). He’s also third in touchdown passes (31), fourth in passing yards (4,394) and passing yards per game (258.5) and fifth in completions (354). And after dealing with turnover issues throughout his rookie season, he finished the regular season with just 8 interceptions to his name.
Vrabel, additionally, should not come as a surprise. In his first year on the job in New England, he has helped flip the script for a franchise whose arrow had been pointing down since the departure of Tom Brady in March of 2020. Post-Brady, the Patriots were sporting a 33-51 record, with a combined record of 8-26 over the last two seasons alone. The Patriots Hall of Fame linebacker now has his team one win away from playing for their 12th Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. If Vrabel wins this award, it will be the second time he’s been honored as the league’s top coach, as he won back in 2021 while still manning the sidelines in Tennessee.
It shouldn’t be a surprise to see McDaniels’ name a part of this list given the season New England has had offensively. In what is now his third stint as Patriots offensive coordinator, there were question marks from media and fans alike around the 49-year-old’s ability to have success in the league without Brady running his offense. He’s put those to bed, helping a 23-year-old quarterback vault into the upper echelon of QBs in the league while calling an offense that finished the regular season ranked second in points (490), third in total offense (379.4 YPG), fourth in passing yards (4,258) and sixth in rushing yards (2,191). In the process, he also helped unlock a 1,000+ yard season for Diggs coming off an ACL injury, and has his rookie running back in the conversation for OROY.
Coming into 2025, the impact Diggs was going to be able to have on the Patriots early in the season was a true unknown. After tearing his ACL with the Texans in late October last season, there was a thought to having the 32-year-old start the season on the IR. Instead, Diggs missed no time, and put up a year reminiscent of his All-Pro seasons in Buffalo - 85 catches for 1,013 yards and 4 touchdowns. Throw in the fact that he is the unquestioned vocal leader in the locker room, and Diggs should have a real shot at coming home with this hardware.
After a nearly invisible start to the 2025 season, Henderson emerged as one the league’s most dangerous home run hitters. With the bulk of his production starting in Week 8, Henderson ended the season with 911 rushing yards on 180 carries, 221 receiving yards on 42 catches, good for 9 rushing touchdowns and 1 receiving. Despite his struggles the first seven weeks of the season, the 2025 second round pick ended the season at over 5 yards per carry (5.1) thanks to his elite explosiveness.
Award winners will be announced at NFL Honors on February 5 at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, with the show airing at 9:00 p.m. ET on NBC, NFL Network, Peacock and NFL+.
Also a part of NFL Honors will be the announcement of the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame induction class, where three of the franchise’s all-time greats are nominees to receive gold jackets:
- Bill Belichick, HC (1991-95, 2000-23)
- Rober Kraft, Owner (1994-present)
- Adam Vinatieri, K (1996-2019)
The NFL will also announce their Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award during the program. Patriots tight end Hunter Henry is this year’s nominee for New England. No player in Patriots’ franchise history has ever been given this honor.
The Patriots have already come away from 2025 with seven in-season awards from players across the roster:
- Week 2: Antonio Gibson wins AFC Special Teams Player of the Week
- Week 4: Marcus Jones wins Special Teams Player of the Week
- Week 7: K'Lavon Chaisson wins AFC Defensive Player of the Week
- October: Jones wins AFC Defensive Player of the Month
- Week 12: Andy Borregales wins AFC Special Teams Player of the Week
- Week 13: Drake Maye wins AFC Offensive Player of the Week
- Week 17: Rhamondre Stevenson wins AFC Offensive Player of the Week
More important than all of this? The Pats still have a potential Super Bowl to win.
Kickoff for Sunday’s AFC Championship Game against the Broncos (14-3) is set for 3:00 p.m. ET, with Westwood One’s national call of the game airing right here on 93.7 WEEI-FM in Boston, as well as across New England on the WEEI Sports Radio Network.
Tune in each and every Monday throughout the football season to Patriots Monday on WEEI. Head coach Mike Vrabel joins The Greg Hill Show at 6:30 a.m. ET, and quarterback Drake Maye joins WEEI Afternoons.