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The Leading Candidates to Win the NFL MVP Award

The NFL’s Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) annually recognizes the standout player throughout the regular season.

The winner will be announced following the initial 17-game stretch, and this year several quarterbacks are firmly in the running to claim the prestigious honor. 

Here we will look at a trio of players that have begun the season well and are now expected to battle it out in a race to become the latest NFL MVP. 

Lamar Jackson Jr. 

Lamar Jackson Jr. is currently the regular-season MVP award holder and is strongly positioned to retain the award based on his impressive performances in the 2024 season. 

Jackson Jr’s strong early season form has been the main factor behind the Baltimore Ravens’ rise to becoming one of the leading favorites in the NFL odds for the 2025 Super Bowl. They are offered at +550 to be inspired by their main man to become champions in New Orleans next February. The Kansas City Chiefs are the only team placed ahead of the Ravens in future betting on the Super Bowl at odds of +400. 

The Ravens were in first place in the AFC North table following game week seven – with five wins and two losses – as Jackson Jr’s creativity has helped his team to prove that they have genuine Super Bowl chances.

Jackson Jr. recorded passing touchdowns in all of his appearances throughout the opening two months of the schedule, with the highlight being the five he managed against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a 41-31 Monday night football victory in October. He managed a 77.3% passing percentage that night for 281 running yards, which earned him an NFL season-high passer rating of 158.1. 

The two-time MVP winner has simply been the league’s leading player by far in the opening months and it is tough to see him failing to build on his form to earn a third accolade in 2025. 

Patrick Mahomes

Patrick Mahomes can never be counted out of winning any NFL award – team or individual – however, his performance levels must improve quickly if he is to challenge Lamar Jackson Jr. in the MVP race. 

The Chiefs star man recorded just five passing touchdowns in his first six appearances of the season, which is exceptionally poor for his standards. His season-average passer rating of 82.5 further exemplifies that his 2024 start has represented a shadow of his career-best production rates. 
Mahomes is truly only still in the running due to the levels that everyone involved in the NFL knows that he is capable of. He has averaged more than a passing touchdown per game across each of the last six seasons, and it would be a surprise if his statistics do not revert to the mean before the culmination of game week 17. 
While the American remains in his prime, he will simply always be an MVP candidate. 
Josh Allen
Josh Allen carries the leading hope of a brand-new MVP winner this season, although like Mahomes he will still need to find greater form to improve his chances.
Allen’s 12 passing touchdowns on 1483 yards across the opening seven games put him among the most influential quarterbacks in the league at that stage, but he will still need to find another level to rival Jackson Jr – that level would probably require a career-high run of form from him.
Ultimately, the MVP award looks destined for the hands of Jackson Jr. for a remarkable third time after he became the youngest player to win it twice. Mahomes and Allen are two incredible players that cannot be completely written off though. 

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