Who Should Be the 2016 NFL MVP?

In most of the polls online, Tom Brady leads the way in the MVP race. He has had a great season completing 66.7% of his passes with 25 TD and just 2 INTs through 11 games. He has the second highest Passer Rating at 110.7 and tied for second highest QBR at 81.9. Where Brady gets hurt is he wasn’t there for the entirety of the season, and it isn’t like he was out because of injury. Whether or not you like the result of Deflate Gate (I personally think it’s absurd, and this is coming from a Colts fan), he still missed those games and I think that should go against him.

Would I be completely upset if Brady won the MVP, no, but I think there are a couple of players much more deserving.

Matt Ryan is starting to pick up traction in the MVP race online. In my opinion he should be in the top three. He has completed 69.5% of his passes with 34 TD and 7 INT. He leads the league in Passer Rating (115.5) and QBR (82.2). He also leads the league in average yards per attempt (9.26) This has been Ryan’s best season by far, throwing the most TD passes and fewest INTs, with one game remaining. His stock is on the rise and I would be pleased to see him win the MVP.

Aaron Rodgers has pretty good numbers, and statistically this is one of the best seasons he has had, despite it feeling like he is having a really down year all year. I believe the reason it feels like he is having a down year is because the Packers as a whole haven’t performed well, however, they are hot and have a real chance to run the table and win the whole thing. Rodgers has thrown 36 TD to just 7 INT, with again one game remaining. Right now his touchdown number is 4^th highest in his career (45, 39, 38), but he will likely get to at least 38 Touchdown passes and probably more after this week against the Lions. The one thing that really sticks out to me is the lack of help in the rushing game for A-ROD. They come in at 20^th overall in yards per game rushing, which is far worse than any of the other QBs on this list.

I don’t think Rodgers will win the MVP, but he MIGHT be the most deserving this year, accomplishing what he has with the cast around him.

Until the dislocated pinky finger, Derek Carr was playing the position as well, or better than anyone else in the league. He tossed 28 TD to just 6 INTs, and he was making great strides again against an awful Colts’ Defense (again, Colts’ fan here… they’re bad). Then he broke his leg. I think he was a year or two away from completely taking the NFL by storm, but he had a pretty fantastic year overall. I think he’ll finish towards the bottom in the voting.

Who would have thought the Cowboys would have a chance to break a franchise record for wins in a year where they were led by two Rookies (we’ll get to Zeke in a bit)? Not me. I liked what I saw from Dak Prescott in the preseason, his completion percentage was high, but I attributed that to the fact that he was playing against second and third string talent. He continued to impress in the regular season, touting a 68.1% completion percentage. He also had 23 TD to just 4 INT. He is also tied with Brady for the 2^nd highest QBR at 81.9. The kid is impressive and has a huge career ahead of him. I don’t think he wins MVP, but I can see him taking Rookie of the Year.

The other Rookie Phenom for the Cowboys, Ezekiel Elliott. He is leading the league in rushing yards, and it isn’t even close. He averages 5.1 yards per carry with 16 touchdowns and an impressive 91 rushing first downs. I believe he is the reason Prescott is having such a good year. Taking pressure off a young Quarterback can do wonders. Zeke is also a good receiver, not great, but good. Just get the ball in his hands, anyway you can. He could win this award and if he does I think Dak will win Rookie of the year. If he doesn’t, he will for sure win Rookie of the Year.

After being suspended to start the season, again, Le’Veon Bell really hurts his chances in my eyes to win the MVP. He MIGHT be the best player in football, with his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, and even line up as a receiver. He leads the league in yards from scrimmage per game at 157, but only has a total of 9 Touchdowns. Part of that is Antonio Brown and Ben Roethlisberger are so good, and don’t need him to carry the complete load. I don’t think he will win the award because he falls into the same trap as Brady, they weren’t there the whole year, and it wasn’t because of injury.

David Johnson was the break out fantasy star last year, and he didn’t disappoint again this year. He had 20 total touchdowns and more than 2000 yards from scrimmage averaging 138.3 per game. He needs 159 receiving yards this weekend to eclipse 1000 yards receiving, which would just be insane. Johnson has carried his team, but isn’t getting a ton of help around him. Because the Cardinals are underperforming this year, I think he will probably lose out on the MVP title this year, but look for him to come back with a vengeance again next year.

I broke these groups up between QB and RB, but there was a commonality in the lists. A Cowboy was represented in each group, both rookies. I think this year the true MVPs are the entire Cowboy offensive line. I don’t know how you could give the award to them as a whole, but I know we’ve had co-MVPs in the past, why not now? How incredible does this line have to be to allow a couple of Rookies to have the year they had? They are by far the most valuable part of the “best team” (record wise) in the league. If I was voting, that’s how I’d vote.

1. Cowboys’ Offensive Line
2. Ezekiel Elliot
3. Aaron Rodgers
4. Matt Ryan
5. David Johnson
6. Tom Brady
7. Derek Carr
8. Le’Veon Bell
9. Dak Prescott