Nickolas Loza | November 17th, 2019
The NFL through ten weeks has been full of surprises, many of those surprises reside in the NFC, with the NFC West being the main talking point. The San Francisco 49ers are in the division lead at 8-1, with the Seattle Seahawks at 8-2 and hot on their heels. In this article, we will discuss the current MVP candidates and their chances of winning.
Russell Wilson
Leading the Seattle Seahawks is the candidate who in many circles is the league MVP, QB Russell Wilson. Wilson has put up the most efficient season of his NFL career to this point, putting up a TD-INT ratio of 23-2, the 23 passing TDs lead the NFL and his 114.9 passer rating also leads the NFL, so he has been thus far the most efficient QB in the NFL, and as such he is the leading candidate for the MVP. I would put his chances at 60%. Unless he struggles against the Seahawks’ remaining schedule, which consists of teams like the Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, and the San Francisco 49ers, he should win the MVP award.
Lamar Jackson
QB Lamar Jackson is the main threat to Russell Wilson, as he has lit up the league for 15 TDs compared to 5 INTs, but the most electrifying part of his game is on the ground, where he’s on pace for the most prolific QB rushing season ever already with 702 rushing yards for six touchdowns. If he wants to win the MVP award, he will have to absolutely ball out of his mind to win, so I’m putting his chances at 20%. He has put together a “valuable” season but in my opinion, he is not nearly as valuable to the Ravens as Russell Wilson is to the Seattle Seahawks.
Christian McCaffrey
Christian McCaffrey is the best running back so far this season, gaining 989 yards on the ground for 11 TDs, he also has caught 48 passes for 3 TDs and 396 yards. He has carried the Carolina Panthers to a 5-4 record, mostly without QB Cam Newton, instead, QB Kyle Allen has stepped in and has put up a 5-2 record when he’s starting. But the offense absolutely runs through CMC, without him the Panthers would be most likely a one or two-win team as McCaffrey is also the Panthers’ second-best receiver. I would say he has the best chance out of any non-QB players to win the MVP award. I would put his chances at 10% because he has to probably gain another 1,500 scrimmage yards to have a shot at the MVP award, and the Panthers will have to win out to even have a shot at the playoffs so that’s why his chances are low. He does face some weak run defenses though so I wouldn’t put it beyond him to be at 2,500 scrimmage yards at the end of the year.
Dalvin Cook
He’s the last player who has a legitimate shot at the MVP award, he has 991 rushing yards, 10 TDs, 424 receiving yards, with 40 receptions. He has assisted the Minnesota Vikings in having a 7-3 record, but like McCaffrey, his team isn’t in the division lead. In order for Cook to win the MVP, the Vikings need to eclipse the Packers’ record and win the division, and Cook needs to get 2,500 scrimmage yards. This is what it’s come to for a RB to even have a chance at the MVP award because it’s always been a QB-dominated award. There are a couple of other players who may also have a slim chance of winning MVP:
Deshaun Watson may have a chance, as he is having the best season of his career, but he’s the second least likely to win out of the four QB’s I mentioned in this article
Aaron Rodgers needs no explanation, he’s having his usual efficient season, his Packers are leading the NFC North, but he is the least likely of the four QB’s I mentioned to win the award because he’s not exactly carrying his team like the other candidates are.
That’s pretty much all the players who have a shot at the MVP award right now. No defensive players have a shot at the MVP unless something unforeseen happens, and no other positions outside of QB and RB have any foreseeable shot at winning the award. It’s honestly kind of sad that the MVP has become such a QB-dominated award because there have been some deserving players in the past few years who have been snubbed because they aren’t playing QB. I hope you all enjoyed this article and I’m sure we’re all looking forward to seeing who will win MVP this season.
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