2025 Fantasy Football Awards - RotoBaller Writers Picks

January 5, 2026

Nick Mariano's 2025 fantasy football awards. He goes through RotoBaller's staff picks for MVP, Rookie of the Year, top Waiver Wire Adds, Biggest Busts and more.

We welcome you to the 2025 Fantasy Football Awards Show, presented by RotoBaller. These awards will cover the usual, obvious suspects, with some comedy relief mixed in. We're aiming to celebrate the good, the bad, and all of the things that made you rip your hair out and stare at the ceiling.

Once again, I'm your host, Nick Mariano. We're going to take our seats at a Chili's in our mind's eye and channel the spirit of The Dundies as we look back on 2025 and look ahead to 2026. We'll laugh, we'll cry, and hope that honoring the year's remarkable moments and players can end the season on a high note.

It's always bittersweet to put another season in the history books. Don't cry that it's over, smile because it happened...and stick with us to start prepping those 2026 draft boards! But first, it's time to give the '25 season a proper sendoff and hand out some hardware.

Most Valuable Player: Christian McCaffrey

Also known as The Wayne Gretzky Award

Run CMC entered the season with myriad injury and durability concerns at a time when running back platoons were getting increased traction. If I told you that McCaffrey wouldn’t even average four yards a carry, where would his ADP settle?

Despite the 49ers suffering several high-status injuries throughout the year, McCaffrey stayed upright for a career-high 303 carries, 1,179 yards, and 10 TDs with 96 catches for 890 yards and seven more scores. It was a season built on volume rather than efficiency, but having 46 more touches than second place (Jonathan Taylor, 353) covers up many issues.

Last Year’s Winner: Saquon Barkley

Fantasy Rookie of the Year: RJ Harvey

Aka The Chasing Upside Award

It took most of the season and an injury to J.K. Dobbins for Harvey to start humming, but Harvey scored at least one TD in each of the final five games down the stretch to vault many fantasy teams to glory. We never got a runaway 25-point performance, but five double-digit efforts after the bye put him above the crowd.

RJ HARVEY GONE!

JAXvsDEN on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV pic.twitter.com/g3vNhmO0ST

— NFL (@NFL) December 21, 2025

Ashton Jeanty did give us that spike week, but largely faltered otherwise. Harold Fannin Jr. is likely the silver medalist here, but the median output was lower than Harvey's, and TE moves the needle less. A healthy Jaxson Dart would’ve gotten there, but part of his upside was rooted in the risky play that sank him.

Last Year’s Winner: Brian Thomas Jr. (yeesh)

Playoffs MVP: Trevor Lawrence & Brock Purdy

Aka The Late Hammer Award

Liam Coen told Lawrence to stop worrying as much and to “let it rip,” and boy, did he ever. TLaw slogged through a couple of bad matchups against Houston and the Chargers, but then he scored multiple TDs in six straight games, including six in the Week 15 playoff opener.

But hey, that was against the Jets, and then he had to face the Broncos in Denver! All he did was score four more times with 299 total yards. And though he didn’t pass for a TD in Week 17, he rushed two in.

Then there’s Purdy, who shook off an injury-plagued season to explode out of the Week 14 bye with 13 total TDs in the playoff weeks. Starting hot and going from roughly 32 points to 40 in the semis, and 44 in the finals, is preferred to Lawrence’s descending output (54, 37, 24). Either way, both signal-callers spearheaded many championship teams.

Shoutout to Bijan Robinson and Puka Nacua as well, but this one goes to the QBs.

Last Year’s Winner: Jayden Daniels

Comeback Player of the Year: CMC, T-Law

Aka The I Get Knocked Down, But I Get Up Again Award

McCaffrey came back from bilateral Achilles tendinitis and a PCL sprain to be the top fantasy player. But don’t forget that Lawrence needed surgery in December 2024 on a bad AC joint sprain in his left shoulder, which he received after getting concussed, which led to an injured reserve move with Jacksonville at 2-10.

Either of them is worthy. That said, Philip Rivers deserves a sliver of this just due to the nature of his return to play. Here’s to you, gramps.

Last Year’s Winner: Josh Jacobs

Early Waiver Hero: Harold Fannin Jr.

Aka the George Washington Award

We honor one of America’s early heroes as the Continental Congress made arguably the greatest FAAB add of the 18th century in nabbing their signal-caller.

Fannin showcased his strong receiving talent on a struggling Cleveland roster that featured David Njoku underperforming and often getting hurt. The rookie wound up as the TE9 in points per game and TE5 in total points, and his 21-point Week 14 boosted many to the playoffs, where he averaged about 12 points per week.

Last Year’s Winner: Chuba Hubbard, Chase Brown

Biggest Fantasy Football Flop: Justin Jefferson

Aka The Trent Richardson Award

Jefferson stayed healthy and jumped out to a top-12 opening to the year through the first five weeks, but just about everything else went wrong for the consensus first-round pick.

J.J. McCarthy struggled and then got hurt, which thrust the offense into limbo with Carson Wentz and Max Brosmer. In his final 11 games, Jefferson averaged a mere 7.2 half-PPR points, which is fewer than players such as Mack Hollins in that timeframe. Even teammate Jordan Addison nearly outpaced JJ by roughly a point per game.

JJ McCarthy was 13/16 for 228 yards, 2 tds, 0 INT, 158.3 perfect passer rating targeting anyone other than Justin Jefferson tonight

He was 2/8 for 22 yards, 0 tds & 1 INT, and a passer rating of 0.0 when targeting Jefferson

— Football Analysis (@FBallAnalysisYT) December 15, 2025

The missed opportunity videos felt like a weekly highlight for sadism. However, the draft-day price tag made it very difficult for managers to bench him. At least Brian Thomas Jr. had an absence. And Ladd McConkey was bad, but still averaged 9.1 FPPG in that W7-17 window.

Given that we have no health reason to shy away in 2026, and that those misses from McCarthy could’ve easily yielded splash plays, many will be buying the dip next year. Right?

Last Year’s Winner: Travis Etienne Jr. (see, there’s hope)

Sleeper No Sleeping Award: Kaleb Johnson & Matthew Golden

Aka The Wake Me Up, I Can't Wake Up Award

So many fantasy dreams were built around Johnson at RB and Golden at WR, but their NFL momentum never got moving. Golden was the 23rd overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, which led to many speculating that Green Bay actually had strong plans for the speedster. But he went without a TD and caught just 28 passes over 13 games, disappointing everyone.

And yet, he was practically a Hall of Famer compared to Johnson, who was a Day 2 pick of Pittsburgh’s at 83rd overall. The rookie mustered 69 yards on 28 carries (2.5 YPC), which left Mike Tomlin with no choice but to go with Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell instead.

Johnson also fumbled a kickoff return in Week 1 and surrendered a live ball in Week 2 due to the new kickoff rules that gave Seattle a touchdown. The early lapses and poor performance when given a rare crack put him on ice for the year.

Last Year’s Winners: Caleb Williams

Midseason Savior: Jacoby Brissett & Michael Wilson

Aka The “Damn Son, Where’d You Find This?” Award

Some of you may have been fortunate enough to scoop Lawrence, Purdy, or Dart off the waiver wire, but Brissett was available in 100% of leagues after a month of play. He stepped in for Kyler Murray, and though the on-field performance didn’t lead to wins, Brissett was the QB7 overall and QB9 on a per-game basis from Week 6 on.

I realize he fell off in the playoffs, but the free booster rocket through the bulk of the season cannot go overlooked. Trey McBride remained a steady star, but Wilson was the No. 1 WR who soared when Marvin Harrison Jr. was sidelined. Wilson was a top-three WR between Weeks 11-17, matching Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s fantasy production. Finding that on the wire is gold.

Last Year’s Winner: Bucky Irving, Jonnu Smith

Fine, I’ll Do It Myself: Josh Allen

Aka Turn Into Thanos To Overshadow Your General Manager’s Ineptitude Award

Allen was the best fantasy QB thanks to 14 rushing scores and nearly 600 yards on the ground. Only Khalil Shakir surpassed 36 receptions this year, all while Dalton Kincaid had another injury-marred year with lighter-than-expected usage and Keon Coleman fell into “healthy scratch” territory.

Buffalo’s GM Brandon Beane said he couldn’t make anything work with the salary cap and a poor market, which left Allen working with Joshua Palmer, Tyrell Shavers, Gabe Davis, Brandin Cooks, and other reclamation projects.

The Amari Cooper flop may sting, but at least they tried something. Allen caped up and made it work despite the organization, so be sure to tip that cap.

Most Consistent: De'Von Achane

Aka The Just Keep Swimming, Just Keep Swimming Award

There’s a tinge of subjectivity here, but Achane came through as a top-five RB in 2025 without a single half-PPR game with fewer than 11 points. Even CMC had 8.3 in Week 8! Jonathan Taylor had a few duds, Bijan Robinson had three under 10, James Cook III had four, and so on.

Achane never had the RB1 performance in a week, but he was never worse than an above-average RB2 either, with No. 17 as his worst weekly finish. There’s no doubting that the PPR bump eroded as the team turned away from Tua Tagovailoa, but he pushed on anyway.

Last Year’s Winner: Jahmyr Gibbs

Tinder Ghost of the Year: Emeka Egbuka

Aka The Pls Respond Award

The first six weeks were a hot-and-heavy wave of flirting with a true league-winner, as Egbuka roared out to a top-three stat line at WR with 18 FPPG. We were laughing, blushing, and teeming with excitement about the fun times yet to be had.

But then the drops started becoming a real issue, and Tampa Bay began getting other options back on the table to siphon the volume that covered up his adjustment to the NFL. Egbuka would top 8.5 points just once more over 11 games, teasing us with the potential shown in that opening month.

The good news is that most of us were able to come to our senses by the time the playoffs rolled around, but even that may have been too late for many who were banking on his early form. Some of you even traded for him! In the end, we’d been hoodwinked, bamboozled, catfished, and ultimately crushed.

Last Year’s Winner: Cooper Kupp

What Could’ve Been Award: Cam Skattebo

Aka The Take My Leg Award

Skattebo and the Giants barely got off the ground in Week 1, but then he was the seventh-best fantasy RB between Weeks 2-7. He gave us points, memes, and entertainment before a fluky Week 8 tackle brought him down with an open tibia fracture, a dislocated ankle, and a ruptured deltoid ligament.

We hope that his youth aids the recovery process for him to run confidently in Week 1 of the 2026 season.

The Fred the Fish Award: Woody Marks

Aka The My Leg Award

Marks was a buzzy preseason name with the uncertainty around Joe Mixon (ankle) and most presuming Nick Chubb was over the hill. It took four games to see it, but Marks did eventually burst for a top-10 week against the Titans in late September (119 yards, 2 TDs).

The rest of the year was a roller-coaster ride filled with just enough splashes and volume on a winning team with an elite defense for positive, run-friendly gamescripts. He had three top-20 finishes between Weeks 7-10, but he’s never far from the blue medical tent.

#Texans rookie Woody Marks tests foot with running on sideline then back into blue medical tent @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/TxI5F99QTu

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) November 30, 2025

Just like ol’ Fred the Fish in Spongebob, we get the scare, and then he’s right back at it by the next episode.

Last Year’s Winner: Kenneth Walker III

The Whitest Sneakers Award: Jason Myers

Aka The Kickers Matter Too Award

This Pam Beesly-inspired award goes to the best kicker of the season, who flexed his powerful boot up in Seattle. Star kicker Brandon Aubrey was still on the podium, but Myers edged him by about 10 points on the year.

I doubt that Myers gets taken ahead of Aubrey in next year’s drafts, but it is a nice reminder that other kickers can crop up from the dollar bin. He led the NFL in both field goals made (39) and attempted (44) while going a perfect 47-for-47 on extra points.

All told, I will point out that Aubrey didn’t miss from under 50 yards (24-for-24) while Myers had two misses, but the Seahawk went 9-for-12 from 50-plus while Aubrey went 11-for-16. Anyone who awards 60-plus should note that Aubrey has cleared 60 in all three of his NFL seasons, and Myers hasn’t hit that since 2020. Still, this is Myers’ award to enjoy.

Last Year’s Winner: Brandon Aubrey.

Staff Shoutouts

• The Goal-Line King (aka Mike Tolbert Vulture Award): Zach Charbonnet (HM: Tyler Allgeier)
• Player Most Likely To Make You Quit Fantasy Football: Kyle Pitts Sr. (evergreen)
• Best Fantasy NFL Team: Los Angeles Rams/Dallas Cowboys (tie)
• Finally Getting His Due: George Pickens
• Respect Your Elders: Matthew Stafford, Derrick Henry, Davante Adams, Travis Kelce
• Real Talk Raph “Told Ya So” Award: Jacory Croskey-Merritt
• Best Fantasy Playoff Defense: New York Giants

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