Coming up halfway through the NFL regular season, there have been many conversations about the awards for the end of the year and who’s in the lineup for each award. With eight tough, exciting weeks of football, there are many candidates for Most Valuable Player (MVP). In my humble opinion, here are my top seven candidates for MVP 2024. When discussing MVP, many people only throw quarterbacks’ names in the mix; however, this season has already had so many ups and downs that the MVP race seems to be close and includes some players who are not quarterbacks.
So Close But So Far
Right now, there are two quarterbacks that should be on everyone’s watch list because if they keep up their work, they will be on everyone’s list for MVP. However, right now, they are short on their plays, making them not on the list for MVP yet, those being Baker Mayfield and Kirk Cousins. Mayfield and Cousins need just one more impressive game to be on the official watchlist of MVP candidates.
Who’s Out (For Now)
When hearing a lot of MVP conversations, there are a few players that I keep hearing that I do not think deserve to be in the talk for now. Anything can happen, and they could turn around his season, but as of now, he is not going for MVP. Patrick Mahomes has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns at the moment. Mahomes is an amazing player, but this season is not his MVP season. There are so many other players who are having MVP seasons.
Here are my top five MVP candidates based on what we have seen so far.
Jayden Daniels
Daniels has had an amazing first season so far. In his first eight NFL games, even with an injury in one of those games, he has thrown 1,736 yards, seven touchdowns, and only two interceptions. His completion percentage is a little over 71%. Every game, he shows up and out, showing the NFL that he is the quarterback that will bring the Commanders back on top. However, the last time a rookie won MVP was Jim Brown from the Cleveland Browns in 1957. I do not see the Associated Press (AP) voters, the group that decides the MVP, changing that stat any time soon. Daniels’ rookie run is very impressive, but I am not sure it is impressive enough for MVP, maybe Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Jared Goff
Goff and the Lions have been dominating the NFL for the past eight weeks. Goff has thrown for 1,695 yards with 13 touchdowns and four interceptions. His completion percentage is a little over 74%. Goff needs to continue to keep his interceptions down throughout the season. He has shown that he can show up for big games, and if he and the Lions continue to dominate, it might push his chances for the MVP higher.
Derrick Henry
Considering that the last non-quarterback player to receive MVP was Adrian Peterson in 2012, it is long overdue for a player who is not a quarterback to get MVP. Henry has taken the Ravens offense to the next level with his rushing plays. He has rushed for 946 yards with nine rushing touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns. He has shown that he is here to help the Ravens while boosting his stats to potentially be MVP.
Lamar Jackson
Another Raven potential MVP is their quarterback. Jackson might be on track for his third MVP season. He has thrown a little over 2,000 yards with 17 touchdowns and two interceptions. His completion percentage is 66.9%. Jackson also has the rushing yards, with over 500 yards and two rushing touchdowns. The Ravens are adding receivers such as Dionate Johnson to help Jackson’s candidacy for MVP to help his passing game. With the way Jackson has been playing, he is a real contender for MVP and has to keep up the passing and rushing yards for the season.
Josh Allen
Allen has taken the previously written-off Bills to win many games and bring the Bills to playoff conversations. Allen has already thrown 1,766 yards with 14 touchdowns and only one interception. His completion percentage is 64.1%, which is lower compared to other people on this list; however, his touchdown passes speak for his ranking. Although his passes do not always find the receiver, when his passes connect, they connect in the end zone. Allen has three rushing touchdowns to add to his push for the MVP.
