The fantasy football season is over and even the monsters who play in Week 18 have seen their year come to an end. It’s time to give out some awards and superlatives. Most awards will also have an honorable mention written by Denny Carter or Patrick Daugherty.
🏆 2025 Fantasy Football MVP - Christian McCaffrey, 49ers
Coming off a year in which he played two games and was the biggest bust of the season, McCaffrey was finally affordable, for his standards, in fantasy drafts. He began the offseason as a second-round pick and eventually rose to the middle of the first round. That proved far too small a climb for the greatest fantasy player of all time. Because McCaffrey was the lone San Francisco pass-catcher to stay healthy all year, he racked up 102 catches for 924 yards and seven receiving scores to go along with his 311/1,202/10 rushing line. He ran circles around every other FELX player this year, out-scoring the No. 2 option by over 40 points. McCaffrey now has more 24 point-per-game fantasy seasons than any other non-QB in NFL history. He’s the GOAT.
CMC touchdown and the @49ers retake the lead.
— NFL (@NFL) December 29, 2025
CHIvsSF on NBC
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Honorable Mention - Puka Nacua, Rams
Carter: Nacua went wild for fantasy managers who took the plunge on him despite Matthew Stafford‘s training camp absence. He averaged an absurd 107.2 receiving yards per game, posting at least 90 receiving yards nine times in 2025. Nacua managed ten touchdowns despite Davante Adams functioning as the Rams’ lone goal line option for much of the season. Adams’ late-season absence was rocket fuel for Nacua, who was targeted on an obscene 37 percent of his pass routes in 2025 and now has more than 4,500 receiving yards through his first three NFL seasons.
🥇 Best Value - Travis Etienne, Jaguars
Popular “sleepers” tend to be the shiny new toys in fantasy: a rookie or second-year player on the precipice of a breakout. Etienne bucked that trend, and he did so by vanquishing a younger, flashier player in Bhayshul Tuten. Etienne made it clear from Week 1 that he wasn’t going anywhere with 149 yards at 8.9 yards per carry plus three receptions. Though his efficiency dipped as the year went on, first-year head coach Liam Coen kept shoveling touches on the Etienne fire, resulting in 1,399 yards from scrimmage and a career-high 13 touchdowns. After going as the RB34 in summer drafts, Etienne closed the final year of his rookie deal as the RB10.
A hat trick for Travis Etienne!
— NFL (@NFL) December 14, 2025
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Honorable Mention - Wan’Dale Robinson, Giants
Daugherty: Wan’Dale Robinson was selected after Kyle Williams. And Xavier Legette. And DeAndre Hopkins. Whether it was a buzzy rookie, hoped-for sophomore or warmed-over veteran, they were going ahead of Robinson. Pigeonholed as a Pop Douglas-type PPR merchant, Robinson was indeed a receptions hoarder, but as an elite WR2 rather than the WR3/4 these kinds of players tend to max out as. He was also a consistent contributor, totaling 14 receptions from Russell Wilson in Weeks 1-2 before stacking up 14 more from Jaxson Dart in Weeks 16-17. Providing a shocking return on investment, Robinson shattered the preconceived notions about what kind of fantasy contributor he could be, and helped win a couple two three dozen leagues along the way,
📉 Biggest Fantasy Bust - Brian Thomas Jr., Jaguars
In what was the most tightly contested award of the year, BTJ narrowly swayed voters his way with a measly 707 yards and two touchdowns on his way to barely finishing as a top-48 wideout. This came hot off the heels of a 1,282-yard, 10-touchdown rookie season. It was a debut campaign so dominant that fantasy managers felt comfortable taking him at the 1/2 turn. BTJ broke out as a rookie with a head coach who was fired at the end of the year and a backup quarterback leading the way for nearly two months. Now he was getting offensive wunderkind Liam Coen on the headset and a full year of Trevor Lawrence. All of that wind in his sails made the flop even more painful. BTJ struggled with drops and sloppy play while earning far fewer targets, despite the Jacksonville offense exploding under Coen. It was truly an earned bust because of how many things went right in Duval, only for BTJ to squander the opportunity. He will be one of the most puzzling picks on the board in 2026.
Honorable Mention - Justin Jefferson, Vikings
Carter: Through no fault of his own, Jefferson was a season-killing fantasy pick in 2025. He had managed to put up solid numbers with iffy QB play in recent seasons, but nothing compared to the incompetence of J.J. McCarthy and Max Brosmer, neither of whom could get the ball to Jefferson. He had just three games with more than 100 receiving yards and scored a meager two touchdowns on his 141 targets. That Jefferson was able to crack the 1,000-yard mark in Week 18 speaks to his elite skill set. With improved quarterback play, Jefferson is a prime bounce-back option for 2026.
🏅 Waiver Wire Pickup of the Year - Michael Wilson, Cardinals
The reason Wilson didn’t win Best Sleeper is simple. He did nothing for over a month. Wilson had eight catches for 52 yards and one score over the first five weeks. Even his most fervent supporters sent him to the waiver wire in October. Wilson made some minor progress once Jacoby Brissett took over, but the true magic happened once Marvin Harrison Jr. went down. In MHJ’s first two absences, Wilson exploded for 25 catches and 303 yards. MHJ would go on to miss three more games. In total, Wilson posted a 46/597/4 line in the games Arizona’s star receiver sat out. Wilson scored seven times in the final six weeks of the year, making him a playoff hero.
Michael Wilson! What a catch! 🔥
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) January 4, 2026
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/pChsFN2GvB
Honorable Mention - Rico Dowdle, Panthers
Dvorchak: Dowdle didn’t receive many votes, but a few fantasy managers who scooped him in the middle of the year gave him a nod on the ballot. With Chuba Hubbard sidelined, Dowdle erupted for back-to-back games with over 230 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown early in the year. Dowdle briefly played himself back into the spotlight once more with 130 yards and a pair of scores in Week 9, but that would go on to be his final top-20 weekly finish of the year.
⭐ Late-Round QB of the Year - Matthew Stafford, Rams
With a real-life MVP calling his name, this award was only ever going to Stafford. This has somehow been memory-holed by the fantasy space at large, but Stafford was on death’s door in August. He was continually missing practices with a mysterious back injury and the Rams brought an Airstream camper filled with futuristic healing devices to save their season. It worked stunningly well. Stafford posted career numbers with 46 touchdowns on the back of a 7.7 percent touchdown rate. He easily led the NFL in passing scores and pulled away from his competitors in the yardage category in Week 18, hitting 4,707 on the season. Stafford was the QB3 this year after falling all the way to QB26 in late fantasy drafts.
Honorable Mention - Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars
Carter: Lawrence’s late-season heater landed him fourth among all quarterbacks in fantasy points. That heater, of course, came with Travis Hunter on IR and Brian Thomas having faded deep into the background of the Jacksonville passing attack. He took full advantage of the Jags being by far the pass-heaviest red zone offense in the NFL. Like almost every great late-round QB pick of recent memory, Lawrence’s rushing ability made him one of the game’s best weekly options; he had at least 20 rushing yards in nine games along with nine rushing touchdowns. Lawrence thrived in Liam Coen‘s fantasy-friendly offensive scheme.
🥇 Comeback Player of the Year - Christian McCaffrey, 49ers
I have already done the CMC spiel once, so this will be short and sweet. Some players are almost certainly more prone to injury than others. Divining which players are “injury-prone” and what the appropriate discount should be is a fool’s errand. If you faded the injury narrative with McCaffrey, you had the opportunity to make the best click of the year.
Honorable Mention - None
Not a single vote was cast for another player.
🥇 Rookie of the Year - Harold Fannin Jr., Browns
The greatest tight end in the history of college football was available in the 20th round of best ball drafts, and none of you clicked him? Shame on you. In all seriousness, Fannin was the ultimate black box tight end prospect. Fannin set college football records with 117 catches and 1,555 yards in his final season at Bowling Green. He was also an undersized tight end coming out of the MAC as a Day Two pick and the film watchers couldn’t stand the way he ran.The Browns then parked behind David Njoku on the worst offense in football. In the end, talent trumped all and Fannin proved to be an elite target-earner in the pros. He caught 72 passes for 731 yards and six scores with a bonus touchdown on the ground. Fannin finished the fantasy season as the TE5, narrowly beating Tyler Warren for the title of highest-scoring rookie tight end. Warren did take it back in Week 18, which Fannin was unavailable for. Pound for pound, no rookie provided more value than the duck-footed legend this year.
SHEDEUR. FANNIN JR. TOUCHDOWN.
— NFL (@NFL) December 28, 2025
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Honorable Mention - Cam Skattebo, Giants
Carter: Before his horrific season-ending ankle injury against the Eagles in Week 8, Skattebo was on his way to being one of the most important fantasy selections of the 2025 season. He had scored six touchdowns over seven games as the Giants’ primary back and was useful both as a rusher and a pass catcher. Skattebo wasn’t particularly efficient -- he finished 30th among running backs in rush yards after contact per attempt -- but his goal line and route running role proved valuable for those who selected the rookie as their RB4 or RB5 in August.
📈 Most Improved Player - Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seahawks
Note: This one was written by resident JSN stan Patrick Daugherty.
JSN was progressing on a linear trajectory — then he decided to make it exponential. The WR14 in summer drafts after a WR19 finish by average PPR points the year prior, Smith-Njigba single-handedly won fantasy leagues as he posted the eighth most receiving yards in NFL history (1,793). He had the 16th most even if you remove his Week 18/17th game total. And JSN not only spiked weeks, he almost never ruined them. He was held below 70 yards exactly one time all season. That is remarkable consistency, and truly legendary on a late second/early third ADP.
JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA 43-YARD TD!
— NFL (@NFL) November 9, 2025
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Honorable Mention - Drake Maye, Patriots
Dvorchak: Maye showed glimmers of elite play as a rookie, but the supporting cast was weak, there was still stretches of inconsistent play, and Maye put his body on the line far too often. Every one of those concerns evaporated in 2025, and Maye emerged as arguably the league’s best quarterback. He made the most of Stefon Diggs and an improved offense line on his way to 31 passing touchdowns and 4,394 yards. Maye also added 450 yards and four scores on the ground, propelling him to a QB2 overall finish. If Superflex was the standard fantasy format, his year two leap would have earned him the Most Improved Play award.
📋 Coach of the Year - Sean McVay, Rams
McVay won’t win COTY in real life, but the voters for this article — there are none, it’s all me — have “fantasy football” in their bios. The criterion was simple. Who created the best environment for fantasy scoring? The answer was equally straightforward. McVay dug deep in his bag this year and reinvented the offense as a mismatch nightmare, finally with a pass-first tilt. McVay’s 13-personnel passing attack put defenses in the blender. It also funneled targets to his elite wide receiver duo. Puka Nacua finished the year as the WR1 overall despite missing a game. Davante Adams led the NFL in receiving touchdowns at 14. That’s despite the fact that he hasn’t played football in a month. Even with both wideouts blowing away expectations, Kyren Williams comfortably paid off his ADP and Blake Corum was a smash last-round pick.
Honorable Mention - Dan Campbell, Lions
Daugherty: It was Week 10 and the Lions’ caffeinated consciousness realized the team had a crisis on its hands — it wasn’t scoring enough fantasy points. Campbell relieved OC John Morton of his play-calling duties and immediately got down to business. David Montgomery’s touches per game declined from 13 per game to nine. Jameson Williams’ weekly targets increased from 4.5 to 7.3. Campbell condensed the offense and got the ball in the most important players’ hands. Seasons were saved and ADPs were justified. We will never forget what you did for us, Dan.
