My Picks: NFL MVP At Mid-Season

Here are my top four candidates. 

There are plenty of candidates for MVP of the National Football League this season. Many of them were candidates in the 2017 campaign. Tom Brady won the award for the 3rd time in his Hall of Fame career last year and is making another run at it this season.

The MVP award is usually given to the quarterback with the best stats on a winning team. In my opinion, Todd Gurley II should have been the MVP last year.

It’s no secret that a great RB makes the QB’s life a lot easier. Quarterback is by far the most important position on the field and it’s the great ones that get all the accolades. But that doesn’t mean a quarterback has to win the award every year! Here are my top four MVP candidates so far this season. We still have the second half of games scheduled yet to play so the list is obviously subject to change. My Super Bowl picks this season are Chargers vs Saints. So don’t be surprised to see a couple of candidates from those teams!

Courtesy: The Sporting News

Todd Gurley II – In my opinion, Todd Gurley II should have been the MVP last season. No disrespect Mr. Brady but Gurley was the ultimate driving force behind the best offense in the league in 2017 and is doing it again here in the 2018 season. As a matter of a fact he’s actually getting better and on pace to break a few records. One of them may be the single-season touchdown record holder.

Gurley is this decade’s Marshall Faulk who ironically played for the Rams organization as well. He can run the ball (868 yards, 12 TD’s) and is one of the best catching backs in the league (362 yards, 4 TD’s). Even though the Los Angeles Rams have a loaded roster, we see who Goff and McVay rely on to make a play and win them the game.

Courtesy: The Advocate

Alvin Kamara – The 2017 Rookie of the Year picked up right where he left off last season. Kamara carried the football and the Saints on his back while fellow running mate Mark Ingram served a four-game suspension. Even with Ingram back in the lineup, it’s Alvin Kamara who the Sean Payton and Drew Brees rely on in critical situations. He’s not a big guy but he plays tough and isn’t afraid of contact.

The sophomore RB is the real deal and if he can manage to stay healthy we’ll see Kamara continue to do spectacular things on the football field. Kamara shares the backfield with Ingram and still puts up incredible numbers: He averages 4.4 yards-per-carry with 490 rushing yards. As the ultimate dual-threat, Kamara has 51 catches for 427 yards. He has a total of 12 touchdowns and 917 yards from scrimmage. He just may hit 2,000 total yards by seasons end which is just amazing since he basically splits time with Ingram. However, head coach Sean Payton has kept Kamara on the field for more plays because he can take it to the house at any time.

Patrick Mahomes – The Kansas City Chiefs new franchise quarterback had the MVP label on his back after the first game of the season. In his 2018 debut as the man under center, Mahomes threw four touchdown passes, zero interceptions and showed tremendous athletic ability and pocket awareness. The MVP talk continues every week as Pat Mahomes is on pace to break several quarterback records and has his team with the number one seed in the AFC with an (8 – 1) record.

Courtesy: Chiefs Wire-USAToday

Mahomes has a ton of weapons and uses every one of them. All of his play-makers get their fair share of touches every game. After nine games the Chiefs’ signal caller leads the league with 2,901 passing yards along with a 66% completion rate. Mahomes is also leading the NFL with 29 touchdown passes and only seven picks in 317 pass attempts. Some thought Kansas City was crazy to trade away Alex Smith who himself was an MVP candidate in 2017. As good as Alex Smith is, he’ll never match the skills and ability of Mahomes and the Chiefs organization knew that when they moved up in the 2017 draft just to acquire the Texas Tech stand out. Mahomes has scored two TD’s on the ground this season and will occasionally complete a pass with his left arm! On top of all his assets, perhaps his greatest attribute is his intelligence on the field.

Mahomes plays the game in slow motion and believes he can make a play every down. He’s a team player, very modest and extremely motivated to be the best quarterback in the NFL. He may hold that title one day soon if he keeps playing ball the way he has all year.

Philip Rivers – The Chargers starting quarterback since 2006 always seems to be under the radar as far as best quarterbacks in the league. Make no mistake about it; Philip Rivers is an absolute stud and an MVP caliber player. Rivers was a first-round draft pick in 2004 along with Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning. Unlike his counterparts, the Chargers QB hasn’t been able to reach the Super Bowl and get that championship ring. Take away the rings and you can easily argue that Rivers is a better quarterback than Big Ben and Eli.

Courtesy: Zimbio

Let’s just look at this season alone. The Chargers are notorious for getting off to slow starts and making a late last mad dash toward the postseason in December. Things are different this season as the Bolts are off to a (6 – 2) start while Rivers is playing near flawless football. He’s thrown for 2,236 yards with 19 touchdown passes and just three interceptions. His 67% completion percentage should be higher as his receivers have dropped quite a few passes that hit them right between the numbers. Speaking of numbers, Rivers statistics aren’t nearly as glamorous as Mahomes but the Chargers don’t have the kind of weapons the Chiefs put on the field every week.

If you just sit back, take the names off the jerseys and watch the game; you’ll say to yourself “damn that #17 guy is a heck of a player.) I very highly doubt Rivers will win MVP or even Offensive MVP unless he starts throwing more 300-yard passing games with a few four-touchdown passing games. He may not be a fantasy football MVP but he is a candidate for pro football MVP.

Honorable Mentions:

Jared Goff
Aaron Donald
Tom Brady
Khalil Mack
Adam Thielen
Drew Brees
Aaron Rodgers
Matt Ryan
Cam Newton