The Associated Press has announced the selections for the first and second teams in the 2025 All-Pro honors, a significant predictor of this year’s MVP award winner.
As the playoffs approach, the MVP race is intensely competitive, largely between Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye.
Historically, being named to the All-Pro first team has been a reliable indicator of who might take home the league’s most prestigious individual award.
While this isn’t an absolute guarantee that Stafford will secure the MVP, the trend has only been challenged in recent seasons.
For instance, last year, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson delivered an outstanding performance, earning him a spot on the All-Pro first team.
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford was named to the NFL All-Pro first-team, a key indicator that he could win the league’s MVP Award for the 2025 season
Stafford is in a dead heat for the award with Patriots sophomore quarterback Drake Maye
But on the night of the NFL Honors, it was Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen that claimed the top prize.
This upset was the first time that a quarterback had been named first-team All-Pro but not win the MVP since 1987.
That year, San Francisco 49ers icon Joe Montana was named to the list, only for Denver Broncos legend John Elway to be named MVP.
Both Maye and Stafford are deserving candidates.
Statistically, Stafford blew the rest of the competition out of the water.
His 4,707 passing yards and 46 touchdowns were by far the best in the league.
Both those numbers were ahead of Lions quarterback Jared Goff.
But Stafford had 143 more passing yards and 12 more touchdowns than the man who now leads his former team.
With such dominant statistics, it may be a shock that Maye is even being considered – especially because he is 313 yards and 15 passing touchdowns behind Stafford.
But while Stafford has the top receiving corps in the league with the likes of Puka Nacua, Davante Adams and Tutu Atwell, Maye put up his numbers with an aging Stefon Diggs as his top target.
Maye, who is only in his second season in the NFL, has been a revelation and part of a stunning turnaround for a team that finished with one of the worst records in the league in 2024 – only to earn the two-seed in the AFC and win the AFC East division title in 2025.
Voting for the MVP takes place before the playoffs begin, so postseason performance will not be taken into consideration for either player.
The award is set to be revealed that the NFL Honors – a ceremony that takes place the week of the Super Bowl.
Stafford overwhelmingly led the league in statistical categories like yards and touchdowns
But Maye served as the key component in a massive one-year turnaround in New England
Elsewhere in the list, Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson earned first-team honors for the first time in his career.
The NFC West division earned their flowers on offense with multiple inclusions. Nacua and Seahawks star Jaxon Smith-Njigba were named to the first-team for wide receivers, Cardinals star Trey McBride was named a first-teamer for tight ends and 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey earned a spot as an ‘all purpose’ player.
Defensively, the NFL’s new single-season sack leader – Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns – was on the first-team for the fifth time in his career alongside fellow pass rushers Will Anderson Jr of the Houston Texans and Micah Parsons of the Green Bay Packers.
Cornerbacks on the first team were represented by Houston Texans star Derek Stingley Jr and Philadelphia Eagles defender Quinyon Mitchell. Additionally, Eagles secondary star Cooper DeJean made the first-team as a slot cornerback.
For the offensive second-team, Maye was joined by Buffalo Bills running back James Cook and a trio of star wide receivers: Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown, Dallas Cowboys pass catcher George Pickens, and the New Orleans Saints’ Chris Olave.
The second-team defense is anchored by pass rushers Brian Burns (Giants), Danielle Hunter (Texans) and Aidan Hutchinson (Lions). They’re joined by linebackers Devin Lloyd (Jaguars) and Ernest Jones IV (Seahawks) as well as cornerbacks Patrick Surtain II (Broncos) and Devon Witherspoon (Seahawks).
