Recent major NFL award winners (as voted on by the Associated Press) from the Green Bay Packers include quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the NFL MVP in 2011, 2024, 2020 and 2021; receiver Jordy Nelson, the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year in 2016; running back Eddie Lacy, the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2013; and cornerback Charles Woodson, the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2009.
Can the Packers add a major award winner in 2025? A special season would be required.
Here are the Packers’ best candidates to win major NFL awards from the AP in 2025:
MVP: QB Jordan Love
A quarterback has won this award every year since 2012 and 17 of the last 18 years overall, so Love — the most important Packer entering 2025 — is the obvious choice here. He’ll enter the season as a big MVP longshot after an injury-plagued 2024 season, but if the version of Love that ended the 2023 season shows up for a long stretch of 2025, he’ll be right in the mix. He’s already shown that he can sustain elite-level play at quarterback over a nearly two-month stretch of play. If he can again, and the Packers are one of the NFL’s top teams, he’ll have a legitimate chance at MVP.
Offensive Player of the Year: RB Josh Jacobs
This award has increasingly been more open to running backs, with Derrick Henry winning in 2020, Christian McCaffrey and Saquon Barkley winning the last two years. But it would take a monster season for Jacobs to win it in 2025. Henry rushed for 2,027 yards and scored 17 touchdowns in 2020. McCaffrey gained 2,023 total yards and scored 21 touchdowns in 2023. And Barkley rushed for 2,005 yards and scored 15 touchdowns last year. Can Jacobs flirt with 2,000 total yards as a focal point of the Packers offense? He got to 1,671 total yards and scored 16 times last year. Jacobs will need more efficiency and many more big plays in 2025.
Defensive Player of the Year: LB Edgerrin Cooper
An edge rusher or quarterback disruptor is the more likely choice here, and a true off-ball linebacker hasn’t won the award since 2013. But Cooper has All-Pro potential as one of the game’s most exciting young linebackers, and he could explode in a full-time role for Jeff Hafley in 2025. He also has the right mix of flash and disruptive production ability to catch the eyes of voters. As a rookie, he made big-time plays as a pass-rusher, against the run and in coverage. You can bet Hafley has a whole package of blitzes ready for Cooper, who is bigger and stronger entering Year 2. What if Cooper manages to lead all players in tackles for losses while also registering a decent amount of sacks and takeaways for a top defense?
Offensive Rookie of the Year: WR Matthew Golden
The obvious pick. A first-round pick at a money position, Golden is stepping into a situation where he could command plenty of targets in a good offense as a first-year player. This is often an award won by quarterbacks, but Ja’Marr Chase and Garrett Wilson are recent winners at receiver. Still, Golden is a big longshot, and he’d likely need to clear 1,000 receiving yards and score a bunch of touchdowns to have a legitimate chance.
Defensive Rookie of the Year: DE/LB Collin Oliver
A huge longshot, admittedly. The Packers went offense-heavy in the 2025 draft and didn’t take a defensive player until Day 3. Fourth-rounder Barryn Sorrell was considered here, but winning this award will require a lot of highlight plays, and Oliver is the better bet to create them. He was a disruption machine as a hybrid edge rusher/off-ball linebacker for Oklahoma State and is bringing an exciting skill set to the NFL level. Can Oliver emerge right away as a subpackage edge rusher for Jeff Hafley and threaten 10 or more sacks? It would be a huge, huge surprise, but crazier things have happened.
Comeback Player of the Year: QB Jordan Love
This has somehow become a quarterback-dominant award, with passers winning it each of the last seven years. Love injured his knee in Week 1, suffered a groin injury in Week 8 and then injured his elbow in the season finale of an injury-plagued 2024 season. Would voters consider him a “comeback” type of player in 2025? Love missed only two total games, so it’s possible he’s not a true candidate.
Coach of the Year: Matt LaFleur
LaFleur has won 13 or more regular season games three times in his coaching career in Green Bay and even led the Packers to a playoff berth in the first year of the post-Aaron Rodgers era, but he hasn’t come close to winning this award. The Packers won 11 games last season, so room for improvement in 2025 is small. LaFleur might have to lead the Packers to 14 or 15 wins during a dominant regular season to be considered. We’ll consider him a longshot here.
Assistant Coach of the Year: Jeff Hafley
Of all the major awards, this one might be the most attainable for the Packers. Hafley helped create big improvement for the Packers defense in 2024, and he’s entering the 2025 season with a chance to push his group from good to truly great. If the Packers can make another big jump on defense after releasing Jaire Alexander and not making a big addition to the defensive front, Hafley should absolutely be considered for this award. And if he wins this award, the Packers might have to prepare for saying goodbye to an emerging NFL head coaching candidate.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers best candidates to win major NFL awards in 2025
Reporting by Zach Kruse, Packers Wire / Packers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
