Offensive Player of Year
Running back
Saquon Barkley capped a remarkable first season in Philadelphia by becoming the first
Eagles player to win Offensive Player of the Year award.
Barkley became the ninth player to rush for over 2,000 yards rushing and finished 100 yards shy of Eric Dickerson's all-time record. His average of 142.7 yards rushing per game ranked as the fourth-most over the last 15 seasons.
In the voting, Barkley received 35 of 50 first-place votes. The only other player to receive more than one first-place vote was the Ravens' Jackson, who got 12. Baltimore running back
Derrick Henry,
Bengals quarterback
Joe Burrow and the Bills' Allen each received one first-place vote.
Defensive Player of the Year
The Broncos'
Patrick Surtain II became the first cornerback in five years to win this award.
Surtain allowed only two touchdowns and 306 yards receiving, the third-fewest among corners with at least 50 targets, according to ESPN Research.
Surtain received 26 first-place votes, beating out Bengals edge rusher
Trey Hendrickson (11) and
Browns edge
Myles Garrett (5).
Surtain thanked his parents -- his father, Patrick Surtain Sr., is a former NFL cornerback -- for "setting the blueprint, and turning a young man into a grown man." He also thanked the Broncos, as Denver coach Sean Payton nodded in the audience, "for believing in me, trusting me, allowing me to grow and be the player I am today.
Offensive Rookie of the Year
Commanders quarterback
Jayden Daniels completed one of the most impressive NFL debut seasons by winning Offensive Rookie of the Year award.
In leading Washington to its best season in more than three decades, Daniels transformed a 4-13 team into a 12-5 one, guiding the Commanders to the NFC Championship Game.
He is the first Washington player to win Offensive Rookie of the Year since quarterback Robert Griffin III in 2012.
After being the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 draft, Daniels became the first rookie in league history to throw for over 3,500 yards and rush for over 800 yards in a season. He helped the Commanders to score an average of 28.5 points per game, which are the most by a team with a rookie quarterback.
Daniels received 49 of 50 first-place votes with the other going to
Las Vegas Raiders tight end
Brock Bowers.
Broncos QB
Bo Nix finished third in the voting.
Daniels also won the Moment of the Year award for his
Hail Mary throw to beat the Bears in November.
Defensive Rookie of the Year
The
Rams nailed their first first-round pick in eight years when they selected pass-rusher
Jared Verse, who became the team's first Defensive Rookie of the Year winner since Aaron Donald in 2014.
Verse, the No. 19 overall pick, led all rookies with 18 quarterback hits and 50 quarterback pressures, which were 12 more than any other rookie this season.
His 4.5 sacks were fifth among rookies.
Verse took 37 first-place votes, which outdistanced Eagles cornerback
Quinyon Mitchell (nine) and Rams defensive tackle
Braden Fiske.
Comeback Player of the Year
Burrow was named Comeback Player of the Year, adding some humor after a year in which he rebounded from a season-ending wrist injury.
In 2024, Burrow led the NFL in with 4,918 yards passing and 43 touchdown passes.
"I wouldn't say this is necessarily an award you want to be nominated for two times," Burrow said at the awards show. "I'm proud of the work I put in to come back from these injuries that I seem to face every year."
Chargers running back
J.K. Dobbins and
Vikings QB
Sam Darnold finished second and third in voting, respectively.
The award was announced by Randy Moss, who sent a videotaped message of thanks
as he fights cancer.
The Hall of Fame receiver thanked doctors and fans for their support. The crowd cheered for Moss when a video montage of his career played during the show.
Coach of the Year
In this third season with the Vikings, Kevin O'Connell won the award after leading Minnesota to 14 victories, the second-most in NFL history.
This came after the Vikings first-round pick quarter
J.J. McCarthy suffered a season-ending knee injury before the start of the season and had a preseason win total of 6.5.
O'Connell guided Minnesota to the No. 5 seed in the playoffs and one win from the NFC's No. 1 seed after ESPN Analytics gave the Vikings a 24% chance of making the postseason.
He is the second Vikings coach to win the award, joining Bud Grant in 1969.
In other awards:
• Former
Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was named Assistant Coach of the Year.
Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and ex-Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn finished second and third in voting, respectively.
•
Niners tight end
George Kittle won the Salute to Service award for his work supporting U.S. service members.