NFL 2025: Comeback Player of the Year Odds and Picks

• NFL 2025 Comeback Player of the Year odds include some recognizable names like Christian McCaffrey and Aidan Hutchinson
• Other players are listed in the odds and could provide under-the-radar value based on their circumstances
• The past five winners of the Comeback Player of the Year award — Joe Burrow, Damar Hamlin, Geno Smith, Burrow again, and Alex Smith — show how subjective it is

The Obvious Choices

Aidan Hutchinson, DL – Detroit Lions

Hutchinson’s gruesomely fractured tibia and fibula in Week 6 against the Cowboys put him out for the remainder of the season and could have cost the Lions their chance at the Super Bowl. Detroit’s window could be closing with this current nucleus. Hutchinson will be on a mission in 2025. As one of football’s most recognizable and likable stars, he is a prime candidate to win Comeback Player of the Year.

Christian McCaffrey, RB – San Francisco 49ers

McCaffrey was limited to four games in 2024. He had a series of injuries that slowed him even before his season-ending knee injury against the Bills.

While it’s difficult to defend the Panthers for trading away McCaffrey, he was limited to 10 games played in the two seasons before he was traded. When he’s healthy, he’s a dynamo. The key to his winning CPOY is if he comes back at 100 percent.

Voters don’t always vote for stars for this award. McCaffrey will need to be back to what he was in 2023 to win.

Dak Prescott, QB – Dallas Cowboys

Strangely, Prescott might benefit from the ongoing Micah Parsons-Jerry Jones contract drama since it is taking up all the air in Dallas. Apparently, he is fully recovered from his hamstring surgery.

He’d better be.

This is a put-up or shut-up time for Prescott. He’s making a ton of money and has been a very good quarterback throughout his career. But with him under center, the Cowboys have never gotten past the Divisional Round.

He’s probably not the best choice to win CPOY.

Under-the-Radar Picks for CPOY

Tua Tagovailoa, QB – Miami Dolphins

Everyone likes Tua and hopes he can maximize his skills while avoiding another concussion because he’s reached the point where one more could end his career.

He doesn’t have the howitzer arm of many quarterbacks, but he is laser-precise with his passes and perfect for Mike McDaniel’s quick strike offense of short-to-middle passes and the occasional deep shot.

Still, those concussions are a problem. The team is doing its best to protect him. So is the league and even opposing players. He barely runs at all anymore, making him a sitting target

If he manages to stay healthy and brings the Dolphins to the playoffs, he will be a true contender for CPOY and will simultaneously save McDaniel’s job.

Daniel Jones, QB – Indianapolis Colts

This is so far under the radar that it might not even exist in reality.

For Jones to have a chance to win CPOY, he first needs to win the Colts’ starting QB job from Anthony Richardson. Then he needs to avoid the injuries that sabotaged his once-promising career.

Getting away from the dysfunction of the Giants and spending time with Kevin O’Connell when he was briefly on the Vikings roster will assuredly help him. Since head coach Shane Steichen is likely coaching for his job, the starting QB will be based on who helps the team win, not draft status, or that Richardson is a hard worker and exceedingly likable.

Jones can win that job and can be CPOY.

NFL Comeback Player of the Year Pick

It will likely come down to Hutchinson and McCaffrey. With the 49ers straddling the line of remaining a top NFC contender or needing major changes if things go wrong, teams will be focusing on McCaffrey, and his numbers could suffer.

Hutchinson will accrue his tackles and sacks. The Lions are still a top contender for the NFC title. That will push Hutchinson over the top.