NFL MVP Candidates

The 2020 NFL regular season is only a couple of weeks from completion. Despite only a handful of fans attending games, it has been a great few months of football. The quality of play has been high – the best players in the league have excelled despite the unusual circumstances.

5 NFL MVP Candidates

As the regular season draws to a close, and NFL betting attention turns to the playoffs, award discussion hots up. Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and MVP are the headline topics on many a podcast and debate show.

It’s MVP which gets our attention for this one – here are the top five NFL MVP candidates…

1. Patrick Mahomes

The Kansas City Chiefs are an historically great offense. So much of that is down to Patrick Mahomes – the 2018 MVP leads the league in passing yards by a considerable distance and sits third in passing touchdowns behind Wilson and Aaron Rodgers.

With the Chiefs at 12-1 heading into this weekend’s games, Mahomes is arguably the MVP favorite. Kansas City’s 6.6 yards per play is 0.3 better than any other team in the league and their 212 first downs by passing is 22 clear of the second-best team.

What Mahomes does can be taken for granted. He has already made a habit of the extraordinary, adjusting his arm angle, seeing and executing passes that only a handful of quarterbacks in the history of the league have been able to manage.

Mahomes will win plenty more MVPs in his career – will he get his second this season?

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2. Aaron Rodgers

Two MVPs doesn’t feel like enough for Aaron Rodgers. Could this be the year the Packers quarterback joins Brett Favre, Tom Brady, Jim Brown and Johnny Unitas on three?

Rodgers certainly has a strong case. Green Bay has the second-best offense in the NFL by yards per play and their 39 touchdowns is three more than their nearest rival. It’s led to team success, too, with the Packers already sealing the division and at 10-3, they are tied for best record in the NFC.

Mahomes is the sure-fire favorite, but it isn’t out of Rodgers’ reach just yet.

3. Derrick Henry

Second in total yards from scrimmage, joint-third in total touchdowns and top of the pile in rushing yards per game, Derrick Henry is a one-man offense. The Tennessee Titans star has combined elite rushing production with immense durability.

The Titans are 9-4 in the AFC South on the back of Henry’s repeated monster performance. He has churned out 200-yard rushing games like they’re going out of fashion.

If Tennessee wins the division, Henry will get some love for MVP as he aims to be the first running back to win the award since Adrian Peterson in 2012.

4. Josh Allen

Although no more than an outsider for the award, it’s only fair to give Josh Allen some recognition. The Buffalo Bills quarterback has guided Buffalo to 10-3, putting them top of the AFC East. Only three quarterbacks have overseen more game-winning drives than Allen.

Where Mahomes and Rodgers are masterful passers, Allen is a dual-threat from the pocket. He keeps defenses honest with his rushing ability. Cam Newton and Kyler Murray are the only two quarterbacks with more rushing touchdowns than Allen in 2020.

The Bills have graduated from being dark horses. They are a legitimate threat in the AFC – much of that is down to the growth of Allen.

5. Russell Wilson

It’s a weird quirk of the NFL that Russell Wilson has never even received an MVP vote. That’s a piece of trivia that’s destined to change this season with the Seahawks currently 9-4 and well-placed to win the division.

Wilson’s 36 passing touchdowns is bettered only by Aaron Rodgers. He doesn’t have the offensive weapons of Mahomes, but he’s still led the Seahawks to the sixth-best offense (by yards per play) in the NFL.

Winning the award is improbable at this stage. Wilson should at least get his first vote, though.