Aaron Rodgers knows what it takes to be named Most Valuable Player in the NFL.
The quarterback for the New York Jets has been named MVP four times in his NFL career, most recently earning the honor in back-to-back seasons in 2020 and ’21.
Speaking with The Pat McAfee Show during his usual weekly interview on Tuesday, Rodgers broke down the current race for the award, which feels rather wide open with just two weeks of the regular season left to play.
Rodgers noted that the award has exclusively been given to quarterbacks in recent years, and suggested that this year might be the time to change that.
“Is this a year where it’s just going to go to the quarterback on the best team?” Rodgers asked. "Or does a guy like CMC [49ers running back Christian McCaffrey] have a legitimate chance to win this? Or Tyreek Hill? Is [Raheem] Mostert on there? He’s got like 20 touchdowns.”
Rodgers specifically shouted out McCaffrey and Hill, who both lead their respective positions by rather stunning margins in terms of yardage. He also believes Bills signal-caller Josh Allen could grab the award after years of solid production.
“I think both of those guys deserve a lot of consideration,” Rodgers said. “The other guy, and I saw some stats, I know Josh [Allen] has had turnovers this year, but the guy has had 40 total touchdowns again in four straight years and the team has been, what they’ve won four straight, and three of those have been pretty damn good opponents.”
Rodgers said that with a strong finish to the season, it could be Allen that gets the award.
“What if Josh throws eight touchdowns the last two weeks and finishes with 48 combined touchdowns? How do you not put him in the conversation?”
"Is this a year where the MVP goes to the Quarterback on the best team or could it go to CMC or Tyreek..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 26, 2023
If the Bills win out and Josh Allen plays well I think you have to put him in the conversation"@AaronRodgers12 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/2iyWkZDHsp
The last time a nonquarterback won the award was in 2012, when running back Adrian Peterson took home the hardware after rushing for 2,097 yards, eight yards short of tying the single-season record.
Heading into Week 16, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was the favorite to win MVP, but after throwing four interceptions in a loss to the Baltimore Ravens, his odds have dropped significantly.
Since then, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson took over the lead in the race for MVP according to oddsmakers, followed by McCaffrey, Tua Tagovailoa, Allen, and Purdy.
But as Purdy and Jackson proved on Sunday, there’s still plenty of room for movement in the race through the final two weeks of the season.
