Thursday is MVP! After four months of debates, confirmations and reversals, the 2025 regular season has delivered its conclusion. In the lead, Drake Maye stands out as the most obvious choice, that of consistency and mastery, ahead of Matthew Stafford who has long been impressive but who faltered at the worst moment. Josh Allen completes the podium, faithful to his status as a quarterback capable of everything, from the sublime to the irregular.
Behind them, two profiles shake up the established order. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, author of an exceptional season, reminds us that a receiver can still carry weight in a race dominated by quarterbacks. Trevor Lawrence, finally, took advantage of a convincing end to the year to enter the top 5 and close the year on a positive note.
The big winner: Drake Maye (QB), Patriots
There is no longer any real suspense: the 2025 season will remain that of Drake Maye. Not because he was the most spectacular every week, but because he was the most reliable over timein a league where consistency has become the rarest commodity. From September, the Patriots quarterback set a clear tempo: few errors, always accurately reading situations, and an ability to make his team win without ever putting it in danger.
Faced with Matthew Stafford, his main competitor, the difference was made there. Stafford has often been more explosive, sometimes more flamboyant, but also more irregular in key moments. Where the Rams quarterback experienced lows in December, at the worst time of the season, Maye continued to advance without deviating from his line. When the pressure mounted, he didn’t shake. Better yet, he delivered his cleanest performances against the most aggressive defenses.
The collective record of the Patriots definitively settles the debate. This team was not announced as an offensive machine, and yet it finished at the top, carried by a quarterback who knew how to elevate your environment rather than feeding on it. This is often where the MVP is played out: not in raw records, but in the ability to transform a good team into a dominant team.
Drake Maye didn’t just win matches. It gave identity, stability and direction. In 2025, the MVP rewards a leader. And against Stafford, as brilliant as he was in streaks, Maye was simply best when everything really mattered.
The Revenge of the Sain: Jaxon Smith-Njisia (WR), Seahawks
In a league obsessed with quarterbacks, Jaxon Smith-Njigba has achieved the feat of establishing himself as one of the major faces of the season… without ever throwing a ball. His 2025 season is not just a progression: it is a affirmation. That of a receiver who went from the status of a promising young talent to that of a true offensive pillar.
Week after week, Smith-Njigba became the priority of opposing defenses. And week after week, he continued to produce. Volume of targets, efficiency, explosiveness after reception, ability to win one on one: it was all there. Especially in December, when games close and receivers often disappear, he continued to pile up the yards and change the meetings.
What makes him the revelation of the year is not only his impressive statistical line. It’s his structural impact on Seattle. The Seahawks win because Smith-Njigba forces constant adjustments, frees up his teammates and provides a permanent solution for his quarterback. He carried the attack, shouldered the pressure and responded when the stakes were highest.
In 2025, JSN was reminded of a simple truth: an elite receiver can still carry the weight of a superstar, even in a league dominated by the aerial game of quarterbacks. And few will have marked the season as profoundly as him.
The disappointment of the season: Patrick Mahomes (QB), Chiefs
The observation is brutal, but it is difficult to get around: Patrick Mahomes’ 2025 season is a disappointment. Not because he became a bad quarterback — the idea would be absurd — but because for the first time in his career, he was no longer the center of gravity in the NFL.
Throughout the season, the same symptoms appeared. A less sharp, less inventive, more predictable Chiefs attack. Matches won without fanfare, then lost without any real revolt. Where Mahomes once hid all the flaws, this time he seemed to suffer them. The improvising genius, capable of reversing any scenario, has become rarer.
The end of the season crystallized this unease. First by lackluster performances in key matches, then by this knee injury in December, which suddenly ended an already frustrating year. The image of a diminished Mahomes leaving the field sums up this season perfectly: no magic, no miracle, just unusual helplessness.
Being the disappointment of the year takes nothing away from what he was, nor from what he could become again. But in 2025, for the first time, Patrick Mahomes did not dominate the league. And in an NFL where excellence is the norm for the very great, this lack of domination is enough to mark a break.
The ranking
1- Drake Maye (-) Quarterback – New England Patriots (14-3)
17 games – 4,394 yards at 72% completions – 31 touchdowns, 8 interceptions – 450 yards, 4 rushing touchdowns – 113.5 rating
2- Matthew Stafford (-) Quarterback – Los Angeles Rams (12-5)
17 games – 4707 yards at 64.3% completions – 46 touchdowns, 8 interceptions – 1 rushing yard – 109.2 rating
3- Josh Allen (-) Quarterback – Buffalo Bills (12-5)
17 games – 3,668 yards at 69.3% completions – 25 touchdowns, 10 interceptions – 579 yards, 14 rushing touchdowns – 102.2 rating
4- Jaxon Smith-Njigba (-) Receveur – Seattle Seahawks (14-3)
17 games – 119 receptions, 1793 yards at 15.1 yards per reception, 10 touchdowns – 36 rushing yards
5- Trevor Lawrence (-) Quarterback – Jacksonville Jaguars (13-4)
17 games – 4,007 yards at 60.9% completions – 29 touchdowns, 12 interceptions – 359 yards, 9 rushing touchdowns – 91 rating
