After so many changes for this tracker throughout the 2025 NFL season, this is our final update for Offensive Rookie of the Year and Defensive Rookie of the Year!
Carolina Panthers wide receive Tetairoa McMillan came out of the final week of the season as the resounding favourite for OROTY, while Cleveland Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger had the DROTY award locked up for quite some time now.
Don't suspect any suprises when the awards are announced in February.
Let's take a look at their seasons.
Offensive Rookie of the Year favourite
Tetairoa McMillan (WR) - Carolina Panthers
In what was looked as a final battle to claim the No. 1 Offensive Rookie of the Year spot, McMillan greatly outshone Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka by putting up 85 yards on four receptions (six targets), compared to Egbuka's eight yards on one reception.
After putting up just two touchdowns in the Panthers' first nine games of the season, McMillan became more of a redzone threat as the season went along, finishing with seven receiving touchdowns on the year with 1,014 receiving yards - leading all rookies in both categories.
He would go on to break the Panthers' all-time rookie receiving yards record, which was previously held by Kelvin Benjamin (1,008).
McMillan dominated the Panthers' receiving game and became a definitive favourite for quarterback Bryce Young. No other player on the Panthers finished the year with more than 400 receiving yards. Jalen Coker was second with 394 - a whopping 620-yard difference between him and McMillan.
The rookie would finish in the top 15 of receiving yards, the only rookie to do so, putting up more than receivers such as A.J. Brown, Devonta Smith, Stefon Diggs, D.K. Metcalf, and Drake London.
With Egbuka having fewer receiving yards (938) and touchdowns (6), scoring only once in the team's final 12 games, there is no reason why McMillan shouldn't win it over him.
As for running backs, Las Vegas Raiders' Ashton Jeanty finished the season with 1,321 total yards and 10 total touchdowns behind what most consider the worst offensive line in football. New England TreVeyon Henderson finished with 1,132 total yards and 10 total touchdowns.
Some will make a case for Jeanty given his situation, but with McMillan breaking the franchise rookie receiving record, and being on a playoff team, the odds are undoubtedly in his favour.
New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough started to emerge as someone who may have been in the final discussion if he had started the season.
The Saints went 5-4 with Shough as the starter as he finished the season with 2,570 total yards, 13 touchdowns, and seven turnovers.
New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart didn't prove enough for the award, finishing the year with 2,759 total yards, 24 total touchdowns, and six turnovers, going 4-8 in 12 starts.
Idianapolis Colts' Tyler Warren held the top spot for the first half of the season, but fell off along with the Colts, finishing with four touchdowns and 76 receptions, while setting the Colts single-season rookie tight end record with 817 receiving yards.
Overall, this is McMillan's award.
Defensive Rookie of the Year favourite
Carson Schwesinger (LB) - Cleveland Browns
There's no need to mention other candidates for this award, such as the one mentioned above - this is Schwesinger's. Case closed.
He finished the season sixth in total tackles with 156 among all defensive players, along with 11 tackles for loss, three pass deflections, two interceptions, and 2.5 sacks. He also ranked eighth among linebackers with 54 stops and 11th with total quarterback pressures.
Schwesinger also surpassed T.J. Ward's franchise rookie record with 123 total tackles - breaking the Browns record with two games left in the season.
Schwesinger will become the first player in the history of the franchise to win the award - something that even future Hall of Famer Myles Garrett couldn't win - despite somehow being snubbed from the 2026 Pro Bowl.