AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year

For similar awards by other publications, see List of NFL Offensive Player of the Year awards.

The AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year (OPOY) is an annual award presented by the Associated Press (AP) to the offensive player in the National Football League (NFL) deemed to have had the most outstanding season. The winner is chosen by votes from a nationwide panel of sportswriters who regularly follow the NFL. Marshall Faulk and Earl Campbell are the only players to have won the award three times, in three consecutive seasons. Jerry Rice, Barry Sanders, Tom Brady, Terrell Davis, Drew Brees, and Peyton Manning have each won the award twice. Campbell is the only player to win the award as a rookie, doing so in 1978. Warren Moon and Priest Holmes are the only undrafted players to win the award. Manning is the only player to win the award with two different teams, doing so in 2004 with the Indianapolis Colts and in 2013 with the Denver Broncos. The award is currently held by running back Saquon Barkley of the Philadelphia Eagles, who received it for the 2024 NFL season after being just the ninth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season.

AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, 2024 recipient
Awarded for	Offensive player of the year in the NFL
Presented by	Associated Press
History
First award	1972
Most wins	Earl Campbell, Marshall Faulk (3 each)
Most recent	Saquon Barkley

Every winner of the award has been either a running back or a quarterback, with the exception of wide receivers Jerry Rice, Michael Thomas, Cooper Kupp, and Justin Jefferson ^[1] Running backs have been awarded 26 times, followed by quarterbacks, with 20 awards. Of the 53 winners, 28 were also named the AP NFL Most Valuable Player in the same season. Since 2011, both awards have been given out at the annual NFL Honors ceremony along with other AP awards, including the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year award and AP NFL Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year awards.^[2]

Players are often awarded after record-breaking or near-record-breaking offensive seasons. Running back O. J. Simpson won the award for 1973 after rushing for a record 2,003 yards, becoming the first NFL player to rush for 2,000 yards in a season.^[3] When his record was broken by Eric Dickerson in 1984, Dickerson placed second in voting behind quarterback Dan Marino, who that year was the first to pass for 5,000 yards in a season.^[4] Marino's 5,084 yards stood as the record for 27 years before being broken by Drew Brees in 2011, who won that season's award.^[5] In turn, 2013 winner Peyton Manning set league single-season records for passing yards (5,477) and passing touchdowns (55).^[6]

Winners

2006 winner LaDainian Tomlinson set NFL single-season records for rushing touchdowns (28), touchdowns from scrimmage (31), and points scored (186).^[7]

Adrian Peterson won the award in 2012 after rushing for 2,097 yards, the second-most all time by a player in a single season.^[8]

List of AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year winners

Season	Player	Position	Team	Ref.
1972	Larry Brown	Running back	Washington Redskins	[9]
1973	O. J. Simpson		Buffalo Bills	[3]
1974	Ken Stabler	Quarterback	Oakland Raiders	[10]
1975	Fran Tarkenton		Minnesota Vikings	[11]
1976	Bert Jones		Baltimore Colts	[12]
1977	Walter Payton	Running back	Chicago Bears	[13]
1978	Earl Campbell		Houston Oilers	[14]
1979	Earl Campbell (2)		Houston Oilers	[15]
1980	Earl Campbell (3)		Houston Oilers	[16]
1981	Ken Anderson	Quarterback	Cincinnati Bengals	[17]
1982	Dan Fouts		San Diego Chargers	[18]
1983	Joe Theismann		Washington Redskins	[19]
1984	Dan Marino		Miami Dolphins	[4]
1985	Marcus Allen	Running back	Los Angeles Raiders	[20]
1986	Eric Dickerson		Los Angeles Rams	[21]
1987	Jerry Rice	Wide receiver	San Francisco 49ers	[22]
1988	Roger Craig	Running back	San Francisco 49ers	[23]
1989	Joe Montana	Quarterback	San Francisco 49ers	[24]
1990	Warren Moon		Houston Oilers	[25]
1991	Thurman Thomas	Running back	Buffalo Bills	[26]
1992	Steve Young	Quarterback	San Francisco 49ers	[24]
1993	Jerry Rice (2)	Wide receiver	San Francisco 49ers	[27]
1994	Barry Sanders	Running back	Detroit Lions	[28]
1995	Brett Favre	Quarterback	Green Bay Packers	[29]
1996	Terrell Davis	Running back	Denver Broncos	[30]
1997	Barry Sanders (2)		Detroit Lions	[31]
1998	Terrell Davis (2)		Denver Broncos	[32]
1999	Marshall Faulk		St. Louis Rams	[33]
2000	Marshall Faulk (2)		St. Louis Rams	[34]
2001	Marshall Faulk (3)		St. Louis Rams	[35]
2002	Priest Holmes		Kansas City Chiefs	[36]
2003	Jamal Lewis		Baltimore Ravens	[37]
2004	Peyton Manning	Quarterback	Indianapolis Colts	[38]
2005	Shaun Alexander	Running back	Seattle Seahawks	[39]
2006	LaDainian Tomlinson		San Diego Chargers	[7]
2007	Tom Brady	Quarterback	New England Patriots	[40]
2008	Drew Brees		New Orleans Saints	[41]
2009	Chris Johnson	Running back	Tennessee Titans	[42]
2010	Tom Brady (2)	Quarterback	New England Patriots	[43]
2011	Drew Brees (2)		New Orleans Saints	[5]
2012	Adrian Peterson	Running back	Minnesota Vikings	[8]
2013	Peyton Manning (2)	Quarterback	Denver Broncos	[6]
2014	DeMarco Murray	Running back	Dallas Cowboys	[44]
2015	Cam Newton	Quarterback	Carolina Panthers	[45]
2016	Matt Ryan		Atlanta Falcons	[46]
2017	Todd Gurley	Running back	Los Angeles Rams	[47]
2018	Patrick Mahomes	Quarterback	Kansas City Chiefs	[48]
2019	Michael Thomas	Wide receiver	New Orleans Saints	[49]
2020	Derrick Henry	Running back	Tennessee Titans	[50]
2021	Cooper Kupp	Wide receiver	Los Angeles Rams	[51]
2022	Justin Jefferson		Minnesota Vikings	[52]
2023	Christian McCaffrey	Running back	San Francisco 49ers	[53]
2024	Saquon Barkley		Philadelphia Eagles	[54]

Multiple-time winners

List of multiple-time winners

Player	Awards	Position	Team	Seasons
Earl Campbell	3	Running back	Houston Oilers	1978, 1979, 1980
Marshall Faulk	3	Running back	St. Louis Rams	1999, 2000, 2001
Jerry Rice	2	Wide receiver	San Francisco 49ers	1987, 1993
Barry Sanders	2	Running back	Detroit Lions	1994, 1997
Terrell Davis	2	Running back	Denver Broncos	1996, 1998
Tom Brady	2	Quarterback	New England Patriots	2007, 2010
Drew Brees	2	Quarterback	New Orleans Saints	2008, 2011
Peyton Manning	2	Quarterback	Indianapolis Colts Denver Broncos	2004, 2013

See also

• AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year