Following a deep dive into team analyses for all 32 NFL teams and an examination of the futures markets for the championship, division champions, and playoff qualification wagers, our focus shifted to the awards futures market at SportsLine. We meticulously organized our top 25 MVP selections based on the most advantageous odds available, highlighting five potential dark horse candidates. Furthermore, we presented our top 10 selections and notable long shots for all remaining award categories.
Coming off a near-victory in the MVP race last year, Lamar Jackson is positioned as the frontrunner for the MVP title across the majority of prominent sportsbooks. Last year’s MVP, Josh Allen, is sometimes also a frontrunner in some sportsbooks. Ashton Jeanty and Abdul Carter are leading contenders for Rookie of the Year, with Saquon Barkley favored to secure another Offensive Player of the Year award. In the Defensive Player of the Year odds landscape, Myles Garrett, Micah Parsons, and Aidan Hutchinson are the key contenders at the forefront. Furthermore, Hutchinson and Dak Prescott are seen as top contenders for Comeback Player of the Year and Mike Vrabel and Ben Johnson for Coach of the Year.
This year introduces a novel award, the Protector of the Year, which stands out due to its emphasis on offensive line prowess and its voting process, which involves a panel of six former offensive linemen rather than the conventional AP voting body. Penei Sewell is currently the favorite to claim the inaugural award, with Lane Johnson following closely behind.
Below, you’ll discover my second-ranked choice for each of the eight awards, determined after thoroughly analyzing all available odds markets. In several instances, the difference between my top two selections was minimal, suggesting that the players/coaches listed below could be considered strong contenders rather than definite second choices for each award.
MVP: Bo Nix +6000 (Caesars, FanDuel)
Patrick Mahomes captured the MVP title in 2018, followed by Jackson in the subsequent year, neither of whom were considered the main contenders for the award before the start of the season. I emphasized Mahomes as a valuable MVP prospect at +5500 that preseason, given his collaboration with Andy Reid, and we witnessed Mahomes deliver his peak performance that year. Since then, voters have been searching for a similar second-year leap, with Kyler Murray and Justin Herbert in the +2500 range after securing the Rookie of the Year, along with C.J. Stroud last year and Jayden Daniels this year around +1000.
Neither Mahomes nor Jackson had won Rookie of the Year prior to their MVP victories, a distinction shared by Nix, who did not seriously challenge Daniels for the award last year, partially due to a sluggish start. However, he demonstrated significant improvement in the latter half of the season, achieving a pace of 4,299 yards, 41 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions with a 69.7% completion rate over his final 10 games.
The Broncos averaged 32.6 points across their final seven games, and while they faced some notably weak defenses, their scoring rate would have ranked eighth over a full season, surpassing last year’s Bills by 29 points and last year’s Ravens by 36 points. Should Nix continue to develop throughout his first full offseason, his partnership with Payton, one of the greatest offensive coaches in history, could establish him as a consistent contender in the MVP conversation starting this year.
While I appreciate the potential in Nix’s MVP odds, there is one player among the top five favorites that I think is a better bet than Nix in my 2025 NFL MVP best bet rankings over at SportsLine. Consider placing a wager on Nix to win MVP at Caesars here:
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Cameron Ward +350 (BetMGM, DraftKings)
I envision the Titans as a potential surprise team this year, largely because their performance in 2024 was hindered by inconsistent quarterback play. The offensive line is expected to improve significantly with the additions of Kevin Zeitler and Dan Moore, complementing recent top-12 overall picks JC Latham and Peter Skoronski. Tennessee’s defense shows promise with a standout player in Jeffery Simmons. However, the primary factor in the Titans’ potential playoff push would be their No. 1 overall pick.
The Rookie of the Year award has increasingly favored quarterbacks in recent years, with signal-callers claiming four of the last six titles since Saquon Barkley’s dominant win as the preseason favorite in 2018, a draft that featured four quarterbacks selected in the top 10. This establishes a history for Ashton Jeanty to win Rookie of the Year as the favorite. However, just two years ago, Bijan Robinson was favored over No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young, with C.J. Stroud further down the odds list.
Ward will have Brian Callahan overseeing the offense, a coach who played a key role in Joe Burrow’s strong start during his rookie season, which was unfortunately cut short by injury. Burrow was on pace to achieve similar numbers to Stroud in 2023, when he won the award despite Puka Nacua’s record-breaking receiving debut, as the Texans unexpectedly won the AFC South. A similar trajectory is possible for Ward, even if Jeanty performs well for a struggling Raiders team.
Of course, there is a candidate with higher odds that I believe represents a slightly better selection than Ward, who is ranked second in my 2025 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year best bet rankings at SportsLine. Consider signing up for BetMGM to wager on Ward winning OROY here:
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Mason Graham +1600 (DraftKings)
Voters tend to favor a specific profile for the Defensive Rookie of the Year, focusing on players who excel at pressuring the quarterback. Edge rushers have won the award in five of the last six seasons. While it’s been 11 years since Aaron Donald won the award in 2014, he was the third interior defensive lineman to win the award in a five-year span. Even when they haven’t secured the award, defensive linemen have often been among the favorites in recent years, with Derrick Brown and Jalen Carter both around +600 to win.
Graham is not being considered in the same class as Byron Murphy last year, as the Seahawks pick was +1000 in a draft where no defenders were taken before No. 15 overall. The No. 5 overall pick has longer odds than two edge rushers who went outside the top 10 this year as well.
Considering these factors, I believe he represents significant value for this award. He will be positioned alongside Myles Garrett, who will draw the majority of attention from the offensive line, creating opportunities for Graham to excel in an aggressive defensive scheme where he could accumulate more sacks than anticipated if he adapts successfully. I endorsed Murphy last year due to the defensive coordinator in place, and while it didn’t pan out, I view Jim Schwartz as a similar defensive mind who could elevate Graham’s candidacy.
While Graham offers great potential, I have identified another player as my top pick in my 2025 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year best bet rankings at SportsLine. Bet on Graham to win DROY at DraftKings here:
Offensive Player of the Year: Justin Jefferson +1600 (BetMGM, DraftKings)
Running backs have secured OPOY honors in the past two seasons, with Christian McCaffrey winning in 2023 and Barkley dominating last year. Before that, Jefferson was the most recent winner, leading the league with 128 receptions and 1,809 receiving yards in 2022, with Kirk Cousins as his quarterback for the entire season.
While it remains uncertain whether J.J. McCarthy will match Cousins’ performance in Kevin O’Connell’s offense, Sam Darnold’s performance last year provided some optimism, as he remained on the fringes of the MVP conversation for most of the season. Jefferson possesses as high a floor as any player, boasting the highest receiving yardage per game average in history at 96.5. A strong season by McCarthy could propel Jefferson back into contention for 2,000 receiving yards, a milestone yet to be reached by any player.
Jefferson has the potential to inflict considerable damage in the opening three weeks with Jordan Addison suspended, and Minnesota’s matchups against Chicago, Atlanta, and Cincinnati provide him with significant upside. It wouldn’t be surprising if he emerges as the favorite by Week 4.
I do have one player ranked above Jefferson in my 2025 Offensive Player of the Year best bet rankings at SportsLine, although the choice between the two is extremely close. Sign up for DraftKings to bet on Jefferson winning OPOY here:
Defensive Player of the Year: Nick Bosa +1500 (BetMGM, DraftKings)
Like Jefferson, Bosa claimed this award three years ago. However, his sack production hasn’t been consistently high enough to keep him in contention in the past two years following DeMeco Ryans’ departure. The unit posted strong overall numbers in 2023 but struggled last year. I anticipate a rapid turnaround with the team reuniting with Robert Saleh, who served as the defensive coordinator when Bosa won Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2019.
Bosa didn’t fully develop under Saleh, as he missed most of the subsequent year due to injury, while the defensive coordinator left to become the Jets’ head coach in 2021. However, Bosa evolved into a perennial DPOY candidate with Ryans continuing Saleh’s work for a formidable San Francisco defense. Despite maintaining a 9-10 sack average in the past two years, Bosa was rated as one of the top four edge rushers in each season by PFF, maintaining the same level of performance as his award-winning 2022 campaign.
Considering Bosa’s underlying performance and the return of Saleh, I believe he should be ranked alongside the top four favorites for the award, rather than being positioned well behind that tier and even trailing Maxx Crosby and Will Anderson in some sportsbooks. Securing him at +1500 represents excellent value.
Similar to Offensive Player of the Year, I could have easily ranked Bosa No. 1 in my 2025 Defensive Player of the Year best bet rankings at SportsLine, but I believe that narrative is going to support one player. Bet on Bosa to win DPOY at BetMGM here:
Comeback Player of the Year: J.J. McCarthy +1000 (DraftKings)
Quarterbacks have consistently won this award for seven consecutive years, which helps narrow down the pool of potential winners. I favored McCaffrey the year he returned from two season-ending injuries, delivering 1,880 yards from scrimmage and 13 touchdowns, but he was ultimately overshadowed by Geno Smith, whose comeback centered on not being a starter the previous year. Despite the AP attempting to steer voters away from such cases following Joe Flacco’s win based on five games in 2023, Sam Darnold still finished third in the race, mirroring Smith’s situation last year.
I think McCarthy’s odds are at a disadvantage because some bettors believe he can’t be considered a comeback player if he never played in the first place. I don’t believe voters will agree with that and if McCarthy can lead the Vikings to the playoffs (which is considered a coin flip in futures markets), he will have put up good enough statistics in Kevin O’Connell’s offense to possibly be the favorite for the award when votes are cast.
Despite the quarterback bias with this award, McCarthy has more than twice the odds at each sportsbook than McCaffrey, who has shown he probably needs to play at an Offensive Player of the Year level of production to take home this award. I’d much rather have the Vikings signal caller in case he turns out to be the latest success story for O’Connell.
With this award I like the No. 1 pick in my 2025 NFL Comeback Player of the Year best bet rankings at SportsLine more. Bet on McCarthy to win Comeback Player of the Year at DraftKings here:
Protector of the Year: Jordan Mailata +1000 (Caesars, FanDuel)
It will be interesting to observe how this award evolves during its inaugural year and what criteria the panel emphasizes when evaluating candidates. Mailata is one of my two favorite picks because I think he is a good value compared to teammate Lane Johnson, who has long been one of the best linemen in the league and is +750 for this award.
Despite the differing prices, Mailata was easily the best tackle in football last year according to PFF, and he’s been top three in three of the last four years. With Johnson turning 35 this season, I expect the panel will give Mailata the edge if it wants to reward an Eagles player. We don’t know if there will be any inherent bias in the positions played by the top candidates, and I find it interesting that the top two favorites (Penei Sewell being favored over Johnson) are both right tackles.
It’s unlikely positional bias is a factor when the panel declares a winner, which could be why two right tackles are at the top of the odds board. But if that’s the case, there’s someone else I love as an incredible value who tops my 2025 NFL Protector of the Year best bet rankings at SportsLine.
Coach of the Year: Sean Payton +2000 (FanDuel)
We started this awards analysis by advocating for Nix as a potential dark horse MVP candidate. We’ll conclude with the same team, as I believe Payton is an excellent choice for Coach of the Year. Payton secured this award in his first season coaching the Saints, and the Hall of Fame coach did some of his best work last year, developing Nix in his offense as the rookie continued to improve as the season went on.
I believe the Broncos are going to win the AFC West over the Chiefs and if that happens, Payton has to be among the favorites for this award. Denver was seventh in point differential last year and third in the AFC behind only the Ravens and Bills, so this team was already pushing to be considered top tier with a rookie leading the charge and taking some time to hit his stride. The offense has one of the best lines in football and the defense led the league in sacks by a wide margin last year.
The groundwork is there for the Broncos to defy expectations and contend for a place among the elite teams in the conference, while most analysts anticipate them being a solid wild card team, vying with the Chargers for second place in their division. I believe Payton’s odds for this award should be higher, placing him among the top two or three contenders, rather than where he currently stands, typically behind 5-6 other coaches.
He might be a better value than the No. 1 option in my 2025 NFL Coach of the Year best bet rankings at SportsLine, but I think the narrative around that top pick will win out over Payton. Sign up for FanDuel to bet on Payton winning Coach of the Year here:
