Ranking NFL Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year candidates at midseason: Who makes top five?

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I’m here to answer one question and one question only. Well, actually, it’s kind of two questions, presented in one sentence:

Who will win the 2025 Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year awards?

Entering this season, some people thought one man could nab both honors. But Travis Hunter‘s debut campaign just didn’t go as planned, ultimately coming to an unceremonious conclusion with Tuesday’s LCL surgery.

So, with eight Sundays remaining in the regular season, who has the best chance to take home each piece of hardware? My crystal-ball offerings are below, but before we get to them, I need to underscore something …

These are NOT my personal rookie rankings, but rather my projection of each race’s pecking order.

Consequently, you won’t find any offensive linemen or run-stuffing defensive tackles in this file. No offense to the big uglies, but they just don’t receive these accolades.

Enough preamble. Let’s rank it and bank it!

Offensive Rookie of the Year

It’s only fitting that Egbuka is the first player listed in this piece, as he’s on pace to post the most eye-catching stat line of any rookie on either side of the ball. Currently ranking top 10 in the league in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns while averaging a robust 16.9 yards per reception, Egbuka is projected to finish this season with 75 catches for 1,279 yards and 11 touchdowns. Not bad for a guy who was widely advertised as a solid slot prospect during the pre-draft process. The latest offering from Ohio State’s receiver factory has deftly operated as the WR1 of Tampa Bay’s injury-riddled receiving corps, lining up out wide on nearly 70 percent of his snaps, per Next Gen Stats. Going up against New England’s stout defense this past Sunday, Egbuka turned a season-high 13 targets into six catches for 115 yards and a touchdown. That’s even more impressive when you consider he was shadowed by Christian Gonzalez for much of the afternoon. A second-team All-Pro last season, Gonzalez has emerged as one of the league’s stickiest cover men, but he admirably conducts himself with a game-recognize-game mentality.

“He’s a good receiver — he got drafted high for a reason,” the star cornerback said in the postgame. “They do a real good job, like I said earlier in the week, him and Baker (Mayfield) have gotten into a rhythm very early in the season and they continued it. It’s a fun challenge out there — it was fun.”

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