The 2025 NFL season will likely be remembered for the surprising ascension of the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks. However, it may also be remembered as the year when the Kansas City Chiefs’ AFC dominance ended.

Due, in part, to Patrick Mahomes’ torn ACL, the Chiefs had their streak of 10 straight playoff appearances—and seven AFC title game appearances—snapped.

The Chiefs will have the chance to get back in the Super Bowl conversation in 2026, but they’ll need a healthy Mahomes to do it. Fortunately, the two-time MVP appears to be on the mend and was on the field for organized team activities (OTAs) this week.

Given Mahomes’ profile and Kansas City’s history of contention, he should be an early favorite for the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year. However, he certainly isn’t the only viable candidate in what should be an exciting race.

Here, we’ll power rank the top 10 comeback candidates based on factors like past production, player upside, positional value, team trajectory, and any relevant player-specific storylines.

Two offseasons ago, the Associated Press clarified that its Comeback Player of the Year (CPOY) award was meant to recognize injury or other adversity that prevented a player from playing:

“The spirit of the AP Comeback Player of the Year Award is to honor a player who has demonstrated resilience in the face of adversity by overcoming illness, physical injury or other circumstances that led him to miss playing time the previous season.”

San Francisco 49ers pass-rusher Nick Bosa missed all but three games in 2025 with a torn ACL, which certainly qualifies him for the award. He’s also a former Defensive Player of the Year (2022), and plays a premium position for a likely playoff contender.

However, Bosa hasn’t been among the most productive players at his position over the past couple of seasons—he averaged less than 10 sacks in 2023 and 2024. It’s also worth noting that Bosa returned from a torn ACL to record 15.5 sacks in 2021 and still wasn’t able to win the CPOY award.

Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft is also recovering from a torn ACL, though head coach Matt LaFleur is hopeful that he’ll be back by training camp.

“Hopefully he’ll be ready to go by training camp or early in training camp,” LaFleur said, per The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman.

Kraft was having a stellar season before the injury. He had 32 catches for 489 yards and six touchdowns through eight games, putting him on pace for a 68-catch, 1,039-yard, 13-touchdown campaign. This would have ranked first among tight ends in touchdowns and second in receiving yards, behind only Trey McBride (1,239 yards).

If McBride can return to 100 percent, resume his role as Jordan Love’s top target, and produce league-leading numbers, he’ll have a shot at being named the CPOY. However, he’s a bit of a long shot, as he’s not even the most notable candidate on his own team.

Voters care about storylines, which is probably why Joe Flacco was named CPOY in 2023 for simply coming off the couch and leading the Cleveland Browns to a playoff berth. Should Jacksonville Jaguars corner and receiver Travis Hunter finally play up to predraft expectations, it’ll be a great storyline.

The Jaguars traded up to take Hunter at No. 2 overall last April, and they expected him to be a key two-way contributor as a rookie. However, Hunter was largely average as both a receiver and a cornerback before suffering a season-ending torn LCL.

Back in April, Jaguars GM James Gladstone revealed that Hunter was expected to recover in time to be a full participant in training camp. In May, Gladstone told the Rich Eisen Show (h/t NFL.com’s Nick Shook) that Hunter will still play both ways but could see an “uptick” in corner usage.

If Hunter returns from injury to become a legitimate star at cornerback—or a quality starter at two positions—he’ll gain momentum as a CPOY candidate.

49ers linebacker Fred Warner is an even stronger CPOY candidate than Bosa. The four-time first-team All-Pro is the heart and soul of San Francisco’s defense, and he’s also arguably the best player at his position in the league.

There simply isn’t much that Warner, who earned three straight first-team All-Pro nods before last year’s injury, doesn’t do at a high level.

The 29-year-old off-ball ‘backer suffered a gruesome right ankle fracture and dislocation on October 12. Warner attacked his recovery and was eyeing a potential return in the NFC Championship Game, had the 49ers gotten that far.

In a recent piece by Matt Barrows of The Athletic, Warner revealed that he began swimming seriously for the first time as part of his rehab process. We can reasonably expect that to be a prominent pregame story at least once during the 2026 season—and, as previously noted, stories matter.

If Warner returns to being an All-Pro linebacker in 2026, he’ll be a strong CPOY contender anyway.

New York Giants wideout Malik Nabers was on his way to being a perennial Pro Bowler when a torn ACL ended his 2025 season. The former LSU star racked up 109 catches for 1,204 yards as a rookie, and he had 271 yards and two touchdowns through four games when his 2025 campaign was derailed.

With second-year star Jaxson Dart finally providing some stability at quarterback, there’s a very real chance that Nabers will pick up where he left off once healthy. If so, and if he helps new head coach John Harbaugh deliver a return to the playoffs, he’ll have a great shot at CPOY.

However, there’s no guarantee that Nabers will be available early or will jump right into preinjury form.

“Just impossible to predict,” Harbaugh said, per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan. “I mean, the goal is to start the season and get out there sometime in training camp. That’d be the goal, and we’ll see what happens.”