NFL MVP Predictions
With the NFL honors quickly approaching, it’s time to predict who will come home with the National Football League’s top award: the Most Valuable Player Award.
This year is one where there are two candidates that rose to the top of the pack, two quarterbacks that will face off this weekend in Super Bowl LVII.
The first is Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes has been in a league of his own the last few years, rising to the elite of the elite in pro football. He led his team to a 14-3 record this season, and with his inspired play through injury in the playoffs, the Chiefs found themselves in their third Super Bowl in the last five years.
Prior to this season, question marks surrounded the Chiefs offense after the departure of superstar wide receiver Tyreek Hill. Kansas City acquired talented receivers in Juju Smith-Schuster and Kadarius Toney, but both dealt with injuries throughout the season. Neither could replace Hill’s production.
Or so we thought. Mahomes had another outstanding campaign, throwing for 5,250 yards and 41 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. The Texas Tech alum was throwing to the likes of Marquez-Valdez Scantling, Jodi Fortson, and Skyy Moore for much of the year— and still put up those numbers.
Now it’s disrespectful to talk about Chiefs receivers without mentioning tight end Travis Kelce. Whom many believe to be the best in the business, Kelce’s presence definitely helps his young quarterback, but is only one piece to the puzzle.
What impressed me the most is what Mahomes was able to do without everything clicking. Although the MVP is a regular season award, Mahomes was able to lead his team to victory twice in the playoffs on one leg, and with his receivers down for the count once again. When all else fails, Patrick Mahomes will make plays happen, healthy or not. It’s hard to argue anyone is more valuable to their team than Mahomes is to Kansas City.
And that brings us to the other man in consideration, Philadelphia Eagles starting quarterback Jalen Hurts. A second round pick out of Oklahoma in 2020, Hurts played very little in his rookie season. He was thrusted into the spotlight in 2021, where he struggled with decision making and accuracy.
Hurts may have been the most doubted and overlooked quarterback coming into 2022. While there were questions surrounding Mahomes after losing Tyreek Hill, people still knew that Patrick Mahomes was something special. Many gave Hurts no chance.
Jalen proved all the doubters wrong. Hurts went 14-1 in 2022, missing two games due to a shoulder injury. With Eagles GM Howie Roseman acquiring wide receiver AJ Brown and key defensive pieces in the offseason, it’s hard to argue Philadelphia isn’t the most complete team in the league.
The Eagles looked the part for much of the year as well, and Hurts took off, throwing for 3,701 yards and 22 touchdowns to only six interceptions. Hurts was even more of a threat on the ground, rushing for a career high 760 and 13 touchdowns.
The only discrepancy between the two candidates is the team surrounding them. Hurts is valuable to the Eagles, for sure, but the offensive pieces surrounding him help him far more than Mahomes. Additionally, if he hadn’t missed time due to injury (to no fault of his own), he may have been the runaway favorite.
With that said, I believe Mahomes will bring it home later this week, claiming his second career MVP title. However, both quarterbacks will rather be focused on this weekend rather than their personal awards, as they duke it out for a Super Bowl title.
Parker Silverman is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email pws5405@psu.edu.
