Patriots have 5 finalists for AP awards for 2025 season

After their 14-3 season, the New England Patriots' ultimate goal is the ultimate team goal - a Super Bowl. However they're in the running for a number of individual awards as well.

On Thursday morning, the NFL and AP announced the finalists for the 2025 end-of-year awards. Five Patriots are finalists in six categories.

Highlighting the list is the MVP race. Quarterback Drake Maye is one of five finalists along with Matthew Stafford, Josh Allen, Trevor Lawrence, and Christian McCaffrey. Maye led the NFL this year with a 72% completion percentage and 8.9 yards per attempt. He threw for 4,394 yards with 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions, while adding another 450 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Maye is trying to become just the second Patriots player to win MVP after Tom Brady, who did so with the team in 2007, 2010, and 2017.

The AP MVP voters are the same voter pool that vote for the All-Pro teams. So there may be some indication on this one as those were already announced, with Stafford as the First Team All-Pro quarterback. Generally those two spots go together, with the MVP not being a First-Team All-Pro just twice since the award was introduced (although one of those was last year). Maye was the Second Team All-Pro quarterback.

Additionally, Maye is also a finalist for Offensive Player of the Year. He's joined by McCaffrey, Puka Nacua, Bijan Robinson, and Jaxson Smith-Njigba, making him the only quarterback finalist in this spot.

That stands out as a bit of an anomaly, since as the MVP has become a more QB-specific award it's generally been given to the best non-quarterback in the league. No quarterback has won it since 2018, when Patrick Mahomes took the honor along with the MVP. The last quarterback to win it without winning MVP was Drew Brees in 2011 (Aaron Rodgers was MVP). Brady won the award in two of his MVP seasons in 2007 and 2010, and is the only Patriots player to win the award.

Maye's top receiver is also up for an award. Stefon Diggs is a finalist for Comeback Player of the Year, coming off of a torn ACL that cost him for than half of the 2024 season. Diggs signed a three-year deal with the Patriots back in the spring, and leads the team with 85 catches for 1,013 yards and four touchdowns.

Diggs is joined by a couple of Maye's fellow MVP and Offensive Player of the Year finalists in this category. He's up against Lawrence, McCaffrey, Dak Prescott, and Aidan Hutchinson.

Four Patriots players have won Comeback Player of the Year previously, one during the initial run of the award and three since it was reinstated in 1998. Babe Parilli won the final AFL Comeback Player of the Year Award in 1966. Tedy Bruschi (2005), Tom Brady (2009), and Rob Gronkowski (2014) have all won it since.

Running back TreVeyon Henderson is also up for Offensive Rookie of the Year, after rushing for 911 yards and nine touchdowns this year. The Patriots drafted Henderson in the second round of this past NFL Draft out of Ohio State. He is one of two finalists this year who were not first-round picks, along with Tyler Shough. Other finalists are Jaxson Dart, Emeka Egbuka, and Tetairoa McMillan.

The Patriots have not had a player win Offensive Rookie of the Year this century. The last to do so was Curtis Martin in 1995, following John Stephens in 1988 and Leonard Russell in 1991. On the defensive side the Patriots have had two rookies of the year - Mike Haynes in 1976 and Jerod Mayo in 2008.

Mike Vrabel is one of five finalists for coach of the year along with Liam Coen of the Jaguars, Ben Johnson of the Bears, Mike Macdonald of the Seahawks, and Kyle Shanahan of the 49ers. In his first season as head coach of the Patriots Vrabel led the team to a 14-3 record and divisional title, making one of the biggest single-season turnarounds in NFL history. The Patriots had finished 4-13 each of the previous two years.

With a win, Vrabel would be the third Patriots coach to win the award. Bill Parcells did so first in 1994, followed by Bill Belichick three times in 2003, 2007, and 2010.

Vrabel isn't the only coach up for an award. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is a finalist for Assistant Coach of the Year. He'd be the first Patriots coach to win the award since it was added in 2014.

In McDaniels' first year back in New England, the Patriots ranked second in the NFL in scoring averaging 28.8 points per game. This was in large part due to the development of young players at key positions including Maye and Henderson.

This all sets up for the Patriots being well represented at NFL Honors, the award ceremony held the Thursday night of Super Bowl week. In addition to the AP awards being announced the night also includes the reveal of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026. Belichick, owner Robert Kraft, and longtime kicker Adam Vinatieri are among the finalists for that.