Welcome to BetFTW’s NFL MVP ladder for the 2024 season. As the pro football year heats up in earnest over the coming months, we’ll keep track of who’s in line for the game’s most prestigious individual honor week by week. Without further ado, here’s our first edition centering on a certain dual-threat quarterback.
I don’t want to discount the significance of the NFL’s MVP award. It means something to be named the league’s most valuable player in any given year. It means the opposition could do nothing to stop you. It means you were an unprecedented talisman guiding one of your franchise’s most memorable seasons ever. It means you are that much more likely to walk into the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day.
At the same time, I’m a tad disappointed by how this MVP honor has essentially become a “Best Quarterback Award.”
I understand that the hardest and most important position in American sports carries a lot of weight in this fickle, dangerous game. I won’t discount that.
But what’s the point of telling the main story of a season by simply leaning on the quarterback you thought played the best? Isn’t that a little reductive? Doesn’t that discount how football is the ultimate team game where all 11 players on the field have to work perfectly in concert?
It makes no logical sense.
As such, my MVP ladder throughout this season will obviously still feature a lot of quarterbacks, but I will probably veer off track more than you’d expect from other outlets. I want to pay proper recognition to every position rather than just throwing a dart at who happened to be the top signal-caller. It would otherwise be doing how we cover and think about the NFL a major disservice.
Let’s get to the ladder and start setting the table, dearest readers.
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An NFL superstar defender hasn’t won MVP in nearly 40 years. As it stands, the All-Pro in Surtain remains a rightful longshot based on that fact alone. But I can’t ignore his status as the league’s best cornerback and Denver’s top player on a surprising Broncos team that sits over .500. Surtain is a complete lockdown demon who, at the very least, deserves an early honorable mention.
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Burrow leads the NFL in most relevant passing statistics and is near the top in almost every other. It is a career season all around for Joe Shiesty. At the same time, his Bengals are 1-4 and firmly out of the playoff picture. I have no problem with the MVP coming from the non-best team. But they’ve gotta be a real playoff contender at minimum. We need SOME standards.
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The Lions look like the NFC’s best and most complete team. The perennial Pro Bowler in St. Brown is their best player and most reliable playmaker. I’m just doing simple math here for one of the league’s marquee contenders.
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Mahomes is tied for the NFL lead in interceptions (6) with the highest interception of his career (3.8 percent) by far. He’s on approximate pace for career lows in passing yards, touchdowns, and yards per pass attempt. The only reason I still have him this high on this list is he’s taken on the role of game manager very well for the undefeated Chiefs. That does count for something. But I’m still not rewarding him for his team carrying him more than ever.
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For all intents and purposes, Mayfield finally looks like a consistent former No. 1 overall pick. According to RBDSM.com, the Buccaneers signal-caller is seventh in the NFL in expected points added (EPA) and completion percentage over expected (CPOE). Plus, he’s keeping a surprisingly inept Tampa Bay defense above water by taking on more responsibility with the offense. Welp, too bad, Cleveland Browns!
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Darnold deserves credit for his redemptive season, as he’s played like one of the NFL’s most efficient quarterbacks in 2024. The Vikings would not be at the top of the NFC standings without his steady hand. At the same time, I have Darnold lower here than probably expected because I think he has the league’s premier coaching situation and an extremely talented supporting cast that I believe many quarterbacks would thrive with.
Still, he’s been awesome!
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Allen started 2024 like he was en route to his first career MVP, but a disspiriting Bills’ losing streak popped those early hopes like balloons. Allen has thrown for less than 200 yards three times while occasionally struggling with a meager Buffalo receiving corps. It’s a testament to Allen’s greatness and creativity alone that the Bills remain a relatively strong contender.
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It’s still early, but Daniels is already on pace for arguably the greatest rookie quarterback season in NFL history. He’s on pace for nearly 5,000 yards from scrimmage while leading the league’s top offense on an EPA basis. As long as defenses don’t catch up to Kliff Kingsbury’s predictable college-like scheme, Daniels is likely locked into the top five of this race for the rest of the season.
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Wanna know why Darnold has been one of the NFL’s better quarterbacks this year? Because he has Jefferson, the ultimate safety valve in football. When in doubt, throw it up downfield, and the incredible Jefferson will likely be down there somewhere. Two years after winning Offensive Player of the Year, I would not rule out Jefferson’s chances … provided the Vikings continue to pace their conference. No receiver has ever won MVP, but Jefferson’s candidacy should be very real.
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After a baffling Ravens 0-2 start, the reigning MVP has almost stabilized one of the AFC’s chief Super Bowl contenders by himself. In the last three weeks alone, Jackson has completed over 70 percent of his passes, has nearly 900 yards of scrimmage, and has created nine touchdowns, all while at the helm of an impossibly balanced Baltimore offense finally back above .500. If he keeps this torrid pace up, Jackson is about to become one of the few NFL players ever to win at least three MVP awards.
