The NFL MVP race for the 2025 season is now about over, so we can take a deeper dive into the players who are clearly the favorites and who is going to win. This was a fun regular season, as the parity was at an all-time high, so there wasn't really a ton of worthy candidates.
The regular season showed us a ton of 'good' this year - there were a plethora of good teams, good quarterbacks, etc. And now with the playoff picture locked in, it's not going to come as a shock if a couple of Wild Card teams end up making a deep run in the postseason. This truly could be anyone's year, and we're missing key faces like Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, and Jared Goff, for example.
For the final time in the regular season, let's get into our updated NFL MVP power rankings. Who stands at the top?
Updated NFL MVP Power Rankings: Matthew Stafford takes the top spot
4. Myles Garrett, DE, Cleveland Browns
Myles Garrett officially broke the single season sack record in Week 18 with his sack on Joe Burrow. Here are Garrett's final statistics from his historic season:
23 sacks
60 total tackles
32 tackles for loss
37 QB hits
This could go down as one of the single best defensive seasons in the history of the NFL. We all know that Garrett isn't going to win the MVP award, but he was the best non-quarterback in football this year and is someone who could surely get some MVP votes.
If nothing else, Garrett should run away with the Defensive Player of the Year award, which would be the second in his NFL career. Garrett comes in as the no. 4 player in our final MVP power rankings of the 2025 regular season.
What a season from the pass-rusher.
3. Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars
Trevor Lawrence finished with 29 touchdown passes this year and threw 18 of those touchdown passes over his final 7 games. Lawrence is another player who isn't going to win the MVP award but should get some votes, as the 2025 Jacksonville Jaguars went 13-4 in the regular season and won the AFC South.
This earned them the third seed in the AFC and a date with the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card Round. We finally all got to see just how good Lawrence could be, as he really began to heat up in the second half of the season, and if Lawrence can sustain that level of play into the playoffs and into 2026, the Jags are going to win a Super Bowl at some point.
Lawrence is third in our power rankings with the regular season over.
2. Drake Maye, QB, New England Patriots
Yes, Drake Maye played extremely well this year, but the ultra-soft schedule is something to take note of. Maye was able to carve up many of those defenses and finished with 31 touchdown passes against just eight interceptions this year, completing 72% of his passes and earning a 113.5 passer rating.
I could see Maye actually winning the Offensive Player of the Year award but not the MVP if that makes sense. Not only has there been a quarterback slightly better than Maye and more deserving of the award, but I do truly believe that the voters are going to take note of the easy Patriots' schedule.
New England is the second seed in the playoffs and will host the Los Angeles Chargers in the Wild Card Round.
1. Matthew Stafford, QB, Los Angeles Rams
Matthew Stafford and the 12-5 Los Angeles Rams are playing the Carolina Panthers in the first round of the playoffs. Stafford finished with 46 touchdown passes and a 109.2 passer rating, throwing just eight interceptions. The Rams are a juggernaut, and Stafford was the best QB in the NFL this year, period.
It would be a massive shock, plain and simple, if he didn't win the MVP. He was the most consistent MVP candidate this year and threw multiple touchdown passes in 11 games to end the 2025 NFL Season.