Another season of NFL football is upon us. The 2022 campaign kicks off on Thursday with the defending Super Bowl champions, the Los Angeles Rams hosting the Buffalo Bills. A few weeks from now, there will be numerous discussions on who is the front-runner to win this year’s Most Valuable Player award. The award has been given to quarterbacks since 2013. The last non-QB to win the award was Adrian Peterson in 2012. Peterson would become the seventh running back in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. Those accolades were enough to allow him to win the award for that year.
Peyton Manning won the award the following season after throwing for a career-best 5,477 yards, 55 touchdown passes, and ten interceptions. It was Manning’s fifth MVP award. From 2013 as we advance, the MVP has belonged to a quarterback. In 2022, we expect that trend to continue. Here are Strike 7 Sports’ top six candidates that can win this season’s Most Valuable Player award.
Josh Allen: Buffalo Bills
With Tom Brady out of the AFC East, the Buffalo Bills have taken over as the best team in the division. That’s because of the presence of Josh Allen. Allen has led the Bills to three consecutive playoff appearances and back-to-back AFC East titles in 2020 and 2021. It’s the biggest success the Bills have achieved since the Marv Levy era.
Joe Burrow: Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals selection of Joe Burrow continues to make the narrative about finding the right guy at QB to be accurate as ever. With Burrow under center, the Bengals went to new heights as a football team. In 2021, the Bengals won their first division title and appeared in the Super Bowl for the first time since the late 1980s. He heads into the 2022 season with one of the league’s best-supporting casts that features players such as running back Joe Mixon and wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd.
Tom Brady: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
TB12 could have easily won last year’s Most Valuable Player award, and there would be no debates about him winning it. In his second year with Tampa Bay, Brady threw for 5,316 yards, 43 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. He also recorded a QBR of 102.1. Brady briefly retired in the offseason but quickly unretired and returned a few months later. With his supporting cast minus Gronk still intact, the chances of him winning another MVP are high.
Russell Wilson: Denver Broncos
After years of pulling off miracles with the Seattle Seahawks, his time finally ended. Wilson was traded to the Denver Broncos. Wilson inherits a roster with a better supporting cast on both sides of the football. If he can lead the Broncos to a deep playoff run while overcoming a tough AFC West division, he will be a lock to win the award for the first time in his career.
Justin Herbert: Los Angeles Chargers
Is 2022 the year that Justin Herbert and the Los Chargers advance to the postseason? The chances of Herbert winning this year’s MVP award could depend on how the Chargers finish their season. Last year, the former first-round pick had the numbers to be considered a top MVP candidate, but the Chargers fell short of making the playoffs and eliminated his name from the discussion. Last year, Herbert doubled what he did from his rookie season when he threw for a career-best 5,014 yards and 38 touchdown passes.
Patrick Mahomes: Kansas City Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes will be without his best weapon in the Chiefs’ passing attack Tyreek Hill. After a contract dispute, Kansas City decided to send Hill to the Miami Dolphins in return for draft assets. The Chiefs will utilize a receiver-by-committee approach to continue their stellar production at the position. Kansas City signed JuJu Smith-Schuste, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling during free agency. They also drafted Skyy Moore in the second round of the 2022 draft. Don’t let the Chiefs receiver-by-committee approach convince you that Mahomes will not be in the conversation to win his second MVP award.
Sleepers that Can Win the 2022 MVP Award
Tua Tagovailoa
Jalen Hurts
Jameis Winston
Kirk Cousins
Lamar Jackson
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