The winner of the Offensive Player of the Year (OPOY) is announced at the annual NFL Honors before the Super Bowl and is one of the most esteemed NFL awards for any offensive player.
Quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers dominate the list, and despite the importance of the position, quarterbacks haven’t won the award the most times.
Full List of NFL Offensive Player of the Year Winners
Offensive Player of the Year is an award that has been handed out by the NFL since 1972 when Washington RB Larry Brown walked away triumphant.
Since then, the award has been consistently won by running backs and quarterbacks.
The winner of the OPOY award has solely come from skill positions, with the offensive line not getting any love from voters. It shows that stats really do matter, as there have been some stellar seasons from the offensive line, with individuals being paramount to their teams’ success.
Running backs have been the overpowering force in this award, winning it 27 times since 1972. Earl Campbell (1978-1980) and Marshall Faulk (1999-2001) both won the award three consecutive times. Unsurprisingly, quarterbacks have the second-most OPOY wins with 20.
Completely dominant by quarterbacks and running backs, the list only features four wide receivers (Jerry Rice, Michael Thomas, Cooper Kupp, and Justin Jefferson) since the award’s inception 51 years ago.
In fact, until 2019, Rice was the only receiver to have won the award over its 47-year history.
However, with the NFL becoming increasingly infatuated with the passing game, wide receivers are more important in today’s league than they have ever been.
A tight end has never won the award, but with the position becoming more of a focal point of a team’s offense, it surely will not be too long before we see one feature on the list. Especially with the NFL’s top tight ends, such as Travis Kelce, George Kittle, and Mark Andrews, dominating the league.
The complete list of the Offensive Player of the Year award winners is:
- 1972 – Larry Brown, RB, Washington Redskins
- 1973 – O. J. Simpson, RB, Buffalo Bills
- 1974 – Ken Stabler, QB, Oakland Raiders
- 1975 – Fran Tarkenton, QB, Minnesota Vikings
- 1976 – Bert Jones, QB, Baltimore Colts
- 1977 – Walter Payton, RB, Chicago Bears
- 1978 – Earl Campbell, RB, Houston Oilers
- 1979 – Earl Campbell, RB, Houston Oilers
- 1980 – Earl Campbell, RB, Houston Oilers
- 1981 – Ken Anderson, QB, Cincinnati Bengals
- 1982 – Dan Fouts, QB, San Diego Chargers
- 1983 – Joe Theismann, QB, Washington Redskins
- 1984 – Dan Marino, QB, Miami Dolphins
- 1985 – Marcus Allen, RB, Los Angeles Raiders
- 1986 – Eric Dickerson, RB, Los Angeles Rams
- 1987 – Jerry Rice, WR, San Francisco 49ers
- 1988 – Roger Craig, RB, San Francisco 49ers
- 1989 – Joe Montana, QB, San Francisco 49ers
- 1990 – Warren Moon, QB, Houston Oilers
- 1991 – Thurman Thomas, RB, Buffalo Bills
- 1992 – Steve Young, QB, San Francisco 49ers
- 1993 – Jerry Rice, WR, San Francisco 49ers
- 1994 – Barry Sanders, RB, Detroit Lions
- 1995 – Brett Favre, QB, Green Bay Packers
- 1996 – Terrell Davis, RB, Denver Broncos
- 1997 – Barry Sanders, RB, Detroit Lions
- 1998 – Terrell Davis, RB, Denver Broncos
- 1999 – Marshall Faulk, RB, St. Louis Rams
- 2000 – Marshall Faulk, RB, St. Louis Rams
- 2001 – Marshall Faulk, RB, St. Louis Rams
- 2002 – Priest Holmes, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
- 2003 – Jamal Lewis, RB, Baltimore Ravens
- 2004 – Peyton Manning, QB, Indianapolis Colts
- 2005 – Shaun Alexander, RB, Seattle Seahawks
- 2006 – LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, San Diego Chargers
- 2007 – Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots
- 2008 – Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints
- 2009 – Chris Johnson, RB, Tennessee Titans
- 2010 – Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots
- 2011 – Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints
- 2012 – Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings
- 2013 – Peyton Manning, QB, Denver Broncos
- 2014 – DeMarco Murray, RB, Dallas Cowboys
- 2015 – Cam Newton, QB, Carolina Panthers
- 2016 – Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta Falcons
- 2017 – Todd Gurley, RB, Los Angeles Rams
- 2018 – Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs
- 2019 – Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints
- 2020 – Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans
- 2021 – Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams
- 2022 – Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings
- 2023 – Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers
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