🔥 Even in a lost season, standards remain: Patrick Mahomes crowned Chiefs’ 2025 MVP as rookie Ashton Gillotte earns rare locker-room honour

The 2025 season ended early for the Kansas City Chiefs — and painfully.

A 6–11 record.
No postseason.
And questions everywhere.

But inside the locker room, one thing didn’t change: the players still knew who stood tallest.

Kansas City has officially announced its annual team honours — voted on by players themselves — and even in a year defined by disappointment, familiar standards emerged.

Derrick Thomas Award (Team MVP): Patrick Mahomes

For the fourth time in his remarkable Chiefs career, Patrick Mahomes has been named the Derrick Thomas Award winner as team MVP.

It’s an honour Mahomes previously claimed in 2018, 2022 and 2023 — and one that carries extra weight this time.

His 2025 campaign was cut short in Week 14 by a torn ACL. His final stat line — 3,587 passing yards, 22 touchdowns and 11 interceptions across 13 games — doesn’t leap off the page by his own historic standards.

But teammates saw something numbers can’t fully capture.

While the roster around him struggled, Mahomes dragged Kansas City into December relevance almost single-handedly. During the Chiefs’ best stretch of the season — a three-game winning run in October — he posted a passer rating above 100 in every game, throwing nine touchdowns with just two interceptions.

And when nothing else worked, he ran.

Mahomes set career highs with 422 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns, refusing to let a broken offense — or a damaged knee — define the year.

This MVP wasn’t about dominance.
It was about defiance.

Mack Lee Hill Award (Rookie of the Year): Ashton Gillotte

While the MVP honoured resilience, the rookie award signalled hope.

Selected in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft, former Louisville edge rusher Ashton Gillotte was voted Mack Lee Hill Award winner as Kansas City’s Rookie of the Year.

Gillotte didn’t explode onto the scene overnight. He started just two games. But his role grew — and so did trust.

He logged more than 50% of defensive snaps in seven games, including each of the Chiefs’ final five contests. Though he finished with 1.5 sacks, his pressure rate surged late in the year, recording a pressure in five of the final six games.

And then came the moment teammates won’t forget.

In Week 14, Gillotte made arguably Kansas City’s defensive play of the season — a dramatic interception off Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, a rare, momentum-changing moment in an otherwise bleak stretch.

It was raw.
Unexpected.
And symbolic of a rookie refusing to fade.

Ed Block Courage Award: George Karlaftis

There was one more locker-room honour.

Defensive end George Karlaftis was named Kansas City’s Ed Block Courage Award winner — an award recognising players who exemplify courage, professionalism and perseverance.

In a season short on headlines, Karlaftis’ consistency and toughness didn’t go unnoticed.

What these awards really say

The Chiefs announced their honours earlier than usual — a quiet reflection of how abruptly the season ended.

But the message inside the building is clear.

Even in a lost year:

• Mahomes remains the standard

• Effort still matters

• And the next wave is already being measured

These awards aren’t about celebration.

They’re about identity.

And as Kansas City turns the page toward 2026, the players have already made it clear who — and what — this franchise still believes in.