The Athletic Football Show: 2025 NFL Awards Recap

Episode Date: January 8, 2026
Hosted by: Robert Mays with co-hosts Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman

Episode Overview

This episode is the annual "TAFS Awards Show," where Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen, and Dave Helman hand out their selections for the biggest NFL awards of the 2025 season. Their lively, detailed conversation covers every major award: Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year, Offensive and Defensive Rookie, Assistant Coach, Executive, Coach of the Year, and the MVP, culminating in the season’s biggest debate: Drake Maye or Matthew Stafford?

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Kicking Off: The Method to the Madness

• Mays explains the approach: follow the season outline, start with Offensive Player of the Year, and go through the big ones, building to MVP. He jokes about not mining the MVP debate enough midseason.

  “This show is fun as hell. I'm just telling you guys right now we picked all the big ones, all the ones that you would expect. ... Dug into offensive and defensive player of the year first. Followed that up with some of the rookies. ... And then the MVP debate, the one that we have not talked that much about on this show but obviously there's tons of stuff to dig into there.” — Robert Mays (02:37)

Offensive Player of the Year

Contenders: Jackson Smith-Njigba (JSN), Puka Nacua, Christian McCaffrey, Bijan Robinson, Jonathan Taylor

Helman's Pick: Jackson Smith-Njigba (JSN) (05:09)

• JSN finished with 119 catches, nearly 1,800 yards, and 10 TDs for the NFC’s #1 seed Seahawks.
• Led NFL in team Target Share (36%), the highest % of team receiving yards in several decades.
• Did this while being the sole focal point in the Seattle offense.

“He finished with 1700 yards for the number one seed the NFC... 119 catches, almost 1800 yards, 10 touchdowns, led the league in explosive plays... JSN led the league in team Target share.” — Dave Hellman (06:09)

Mays/Klassen Pick: Puka Nacua (10:21)

• Nacua was “dominant wire to wire” and improved in every phase, specifically vs man coverage.
• Led league in EPA per route against man; 20.8% catch rate over expectation vs man, #1 NFL.
• 27 contested catches (71.1% catch rate); best Next Gen Stat receiving EPA season ever.

“By a lot of measures. He had the most impressive receiving season in the last decade... led the NFL in EPA per route run. There is a bigger gap between him and JSN at 2 than JSN and Ryan Flournoy at 14.” — Robert Mays (13:02)

Honorable Mentions:

• Bijan Robinson — special emergence but just short of WRs’ dominance.
• Christian McCaffrey — “Most impactful player in the league, full stop.”
• Jonathan Taylor — strong midseason, faded down the stretch.

Defensive Player of the Year

Unanimous Pick: Myles Garrett (16:45)

• Broke the single-season sack record (23 sacks).
• Set apart from the field; all-time season by an all-time player.
• Defensive peers: Will Anderson (most improved), Dominant down to down stats (1st in PFF win rate, 2nd in pressure rate, top splash play %, 3rd in run stop %).

“We talked about that like guys run defense numbers. He's up there this year in terms of runs, run stops... maybe the best season he's ever had as a run defender, which I think is incredibly impressive and worth noting.” — Robert Mays (22:59)

Hall of Fame Company (per Dave):

“Only eight players in league history have won defensive player of the year multiple times... that’s the company that he's about to join.” (21:49)

Other Mentions:

• Will Anderson (2nd-best defender, huge leap)
• Micah Parsons (dropped off after injury)

Offensive Rookie of the Year

Consensus Pick: Tetairoa McMillan (27:27)

• Starter from week 1 for Carolina; only 1,000-yard rookie WR; led all in rookie TDs.
• Unambiguously WR1 for his team, efficiency statistics in company with NFL stars.

“He was so clearly and immediately the guy for that team... thousand yards, as efficient as he was, he's an incredible football player.” — Derek Klassen (29:06)

Discussion:

• Others considered: Tyler Shough, Jackson Dart, Emeka Egbuka, Tyler Warren, Colston Loveland.
• Loveland named the best overall rookie by Mays/Klassen (31:06), especially for how advanced he is as a 21-year-old tight end.

Defensive Rookie of the Year

Debate: Carson Suessinger vs Abdul Carter

• Derrik & Dave: Carson Suessinger (LB): 78 stops (10th in NFL), 20 QB pressures, strong in run and coverage, rare year-1 impact at LB.

“178 stops... 10th in the NFL with those. 20 quarterback pressures, two and a half sacks... good in coverage... so rarely guys come into the league and are awesome.” — Derek Klassen (34:16)

• Robert: Abdul Carter (EDGE/LB): 12th in total pressures, led NFL in both quick pressures and time-to-pressure, 8th in tackles, leader in TFLs/interceptions.

Others Mentioned:

• Nick Emmanwori (Seattle, big nickel “skeleton key” — 37:27)
• Malaki Starks, James Pierce, Xavier Watts

Protector (Offensive Lineman) of the Year

Picks Split between: Penai Sewell (Detroit) & Garrett Bolles (Denver)

• Dave: Garrett Bolles anchored best OL in AFC’s top seed Denver: only OT to play all games, allow zero sacks, under 20 pressures (39:07)

“Garrett Bowles is one of eight offensive tackles... fewer than 20 pressures. ...only one... didn't allow a sack.” — Dave Hellman (40:55)

• Derrik & Robert: Penai Sewell (Detroit); elite pass protector (2nd lowest blown block rate), best run-blocking tackle, consistent weapon in run game.

"So you have Sewell doing that as a pass protector and he's still very, very good... it's still to me like until proven otherwise... it's still Penne Seul." — Derek Klassen (41:24)

Other Mentions: Andrew Thomas, Trent Williams, Aaron Brewer, Laremy Tunsil

Assistant Coach of the Year

Major Debate; Two Standouts:

• Vance Joseph (Denver) — Consistently strong defense, mixing more coverages, maximizing mixed units. (44:48)

• Winners:

  • Dave & Robert: Anthony Campanile (Jaguars DC), for “worst-to-top-10” defensive turnaround with almost identical personnel, creative zone rotations/blitzes, maximized every starter.

  “Jags jumped from 31st in defensive DVOA to 6th... with basically the same guys... It’s incredible.” — Dave Hellman (49:54) “Every single guy on the defense is the best version of himself... Devin Lloyd playing at the level that Devin Lloyd is playing at.” — Robert Mays (54:50)

  • Jesse Minter (Chargers DC) also highly praised — “doing more with less,” creative personnel usage, evolving coverage disguises.

Strong Cases:

• Chris Shula, Brian Flores, Matt Burke, Fangio, Kubiak, McDaniels.

Executive of the Year

Consensus: John Schneider (Seahawks GM) (61:30)

• Engineered youth movement: traded Geno Smith, DK Metcalf; replaced aging/expensive pieces seamlessly.
• Drafted/added impact defenders: Nick Emmanwori (the pick from DK trade), Josh Jones (depth), enabled team to remain NFC’s #1 seed.

“The only reason I even had a slight bit of pause is because Mike McDonald is my coach of the year and giving it to both... is hard.” — Robert Mays (62:01)
“You could give Schneider this award without even factoring... take the Tank Lawrence signing off the board... everything about retooling the offense and being right about it would be enough for me.” — Dave Hellman (62:18)

Coach of the Year

Consensus Pick: Mike Macdonald (Seahawks HC) (65:49)

• Turned Seahawks into DVOA juggernaut; best total defense (by weighted DVOA) in franchise history, outpacing Legion of Boom squads — “calls the plays, clear vision for all his guys.”
• Not just about personnel, but scheme, in-season development, staff changes (hired Kubiak).

“He has built a historically good, perfect modern defense and he is the person at the center of that. He deserves an unbelievable amount of credit for that.” — Robert Mays (67:15)

Other finalists:

• Kyle Shanahan (49ers): miraculous offensive numbers despite injuries/depth, “this year proved he is personnel-proof” (74:32).
• Mike Vrabel (Patriots), Ben Johnson (Lions), Liam Coen (Bears).

Most Valuable Player (MVP)

SHOW-STOPPER: Drake Maye (Patriots) vs Matthew Stafford (Rams)

MVP Voting Outcome: Drake Maye

“I wanted Matthew Stafford to win this award ... but when I sat down with it and looked at everything, I was like, if we're being fair ... it should be Drake Maye.” — Dave Hellman (77:26)
“That's exactly where I landed... the narrative argument for May... when these young quarterbacks have this, their moment, we're going to remember that forever … and Drake Maye absolutely had that.” — Derek Klassen (77:39)

The Case for Stafford:

• Legacy-defining season, apex of years building in Detroit to Rams, now joined by Adams and Nacua.
• #2 offense by DVOA, “aesthetically...my favorite QB in the league.”
• Second-team All-Pro in the Mahomes/Burrow/Allen prime era is Hall of Fame material.

“This season for me is what I think… this is like the tipping point season for me. Whether he wins the MVP or not, because whether he wins the MVP or not doesn't change the complexion of what he was this year in the NFL.” — Robert Mays (80:48)

Case for Drake Maye:

• Led NFL in EPA per dropback, total EPA; best under pressure since the beginning of the Next Gen Stats era except for Mahomes '18, Allen '20.
• 37 first downs via his legs, Stafford ZERO.
• Success against high-probability passing situations compares only to Mahomes, Rodgers, Lamar.
• Faced similar pass defense schedules as Stafford.

“Drake May created 37 first downs with his legs this year to Matthew Stafford. Zero... Drake May leads the league in both EPA per drop back and total epa. ...in scenarios where you have a 50% or more passing percentage... that is the sixth most in the next gen stats era.” — Robert Mays (82:06)

“When you are that good, the schedule stuff doesn't matter... He dominated every single team that he played against.” — Derek Klassen (85:27)

• Head-to-head in common opponents: Maye 6-0, Stafford 3-3.

Memorable Quotes:

• “Matthew Stafford is a Hall of Famer. Based on what this season is, this is like the tipping point... this is the apex of that.” — Robert Mays (78:53)
• “This reminds me of last year and a lot of people have said that this week. This is the final kind of note I'll put on it. Just because you're picking one guy does not mean you're diminishing the other guy.” — Robert Mays (89:40)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Puka Nacua’s evolution:

  “He has gone from player who was very productive to one who is genuinely special.” — Robert Mays (11:22)
  “Every play to Puka right now is an opportunity because of what he's doing in one-on-one situations.” — Robert Mays (13:02)

• Miles Garrett’s season:

  “It’s an all-time great season by an all-time great player.” — Robert Mays (20:46)

• Drake Maye under pressure:

  “The seasons where a player has been as good when pressured as Drake May was this year, the only guys around him are the MVP alien QBs.” — Robert Mays (84:47)

• On Stafford’s legacy season:

  “What Matthew Stafford was asked to do within the Rams offense, you could not do, do better than Matthew Stafford did.” — Robert Mays (81:53)

• On Anthony Campanile (Asst. Coach of the Year):

  “To do this with basically the same stuff that was unplayable last year is incredible.” — Dave Hellman (51:04)

Timestamps of Key Segments

• Offensive Player of the Year: 05:09–16:31
• Defensive Player of the Year: 16:45–22:59
• Offensive Rookie of the Year: 27:21–33:59
• Defensive Rookie of the Year: 34:04–38:41
• Protector of the Year: 39:07–44:17
• Assistant Coach of the Year: 44:35–58:58
• Executive of the Year: 61:13–65:49
• Coach of the Year: 65:49–76:47
• MVP Debate (Maye vs Stafford): 76:47–91:42

Final Thoughts

This episode is a thorough, passionate, and expertly-argued roll call of the best (and often most improved) players, coaches, and executives in the NFL’s 2025 campaign. The hosts blend data and storytelling, contextualizing why history will remember this as “Drake Maye’s moment” but also as a year for legacy-defining runs by both Matthew Stafford and Myles Garrett, and for groundbreaking work by Mike Macdonald and John Schneider in Seattle.

For listeners who missed it:
This summary lets you confidently converse about the big stories, stats, and why each award-holder matters—especially in the closely-debated MVP race—without sitting through the whole episode.