The wide receiver deserves to win the Most Valuable Player Award for the first time in NFL history. [Image: Shutterstock.com]
NFL MVP odds…misleading
Winning the NFL MVP award is tough. Only 57 players out of the tens of thousands who took the field were able to win the award.
But as difficult as it is to earn the distinction as the NFL’s Most Valuable Player, doing so as a non-quarterback or running back is even more difficult. No offensive player outside of those two positions has ever received this honor, and only three defensive players/special players have been very lucky.
There are a number of wide receivers who either have or are on their way to making history
Patrick Mahomes and Tua Tagovailoa, two quarterbacks, are the favorites to win the NFL Most Valuable Player Award for the 2023 season. But the simple fact is that no QB or RB has separated themselves from the field or done anything unprecedented, in… While there are a couple of wide receivers who have either made history or are on their way to it.
Allow us to explain not just why a wide receiver will win his first NFL MVP award, but why it would be a crime if he didn’t.
Who put these men here?
Let’s take a quick look at the top of the board. Tua leads the NFL with 302 yards per game, 18 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. Despite the strength of his numbers, the prevailing opinion is that he is aided by the assembly of fast and excellent weapons around him, as well as the genius of coach Mike McDaniel.
The Miami Dolphins are also 0-2 against winning teams and could be 0-3 after this weekend when they face the Kansas City Chiefs as two-point underdogs.
Speaking of the Chiefs, Mahomes is next in line for the Cup according to oddsmakers. Although he is second in QBR, he is on pace to set a career low in yards per game and a career high in interceptions.
Lamar Jackson also ranks high on the prospect board but is 17th in yards per game
Jalen Hurts is good in the mix, but he’s also on pace to top the picks and only ranks sixth in QBR. Lamar Jackson also ranks high on the prospect board but is 17th in passing yards per game and is on pace to throw half the touchdowns he managed when he won the award in 2019. Additionally, he is 13th in QBR.
The only guy running anywhere near the MVP conversation is Christian McCaffrey. He leads the league with 652 rushing yards and has 292 more, and has scored at least one touchdown in every game. However, he’s averaging just 48.3 yards and hasn’t topped 54 over the last four weeks and is dealing with an injury that appears to have derailed his MVP hopes.
So who really deserves the NFL MVP award? Let us introduce you to our primary candidates.
Honoring recipients
Fighting out of the turquoise corner, it’s Tyreek Hill. The 5-10 speedster recently became the first player in the Super Bowl era to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards in eight games and is averaging 126.8 yards per game. He also scored eight touchdowns and at least one in every game but one.
Hill is on pace to rack up 2,154.8 yards and 17 touchdowns and erase Calvin Johnson’s single-season record of 1,964 yards. And for the purists out there, his 16-game rushing still puts him at 2,028 yards, well above the record set by Megatron.
The Dolphins are first in the AFC East and lead the league in points scored, and Hill is their primary catalyst.
Apparently, oddsmakers have just caught Hill’s historic season. He recently rose to +2000 odds to win the DraftKings MVP award but is still tied for seventh.
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver AJ Brown is also worth a mention. Last week, he became the first receiver in league history to record more than 125 yards in six straight games and averaged 138.5 yards per game during that span. His 939 yards and five touchdowns also put him on pace to break Johnson’s single-season record of 1,995.4 yards to go with 11 touchdowns.
The Eagles also have the best record in the NFL at 7-1 and have a chance to make their second Super Bowl title in as many years.
Browns MVP odds? +5000. Fourteenth best.
This is as good a year as any to award the NFL MVP to a wide receiver. No one has come as close to that level as Jerry Rice in 1987 (II), but with the nonsensical QB play and the ridiculous level these wideouts have reached, it’s time to give them their roses.
