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Steffen Schmidt - July 20, 2023
There is no greater individual accolade in NFL history than the league’s MVP award (Most Valuable Player), which recognizes the true best performer from a full seventeen game season and one that showcases the importance that the recipient continues to bring towards their team’s success and their frequent excellent play on the field.
The MVP award remains one of the most hotly debated topics heading into any NFL regular season as fans will often voice their own unique opinions as to which players that they believe will become the league’s best player throughout the campaign.
Earning MVP honors is an unprecedented accomplishment that many hall of famers have previously upheld throughout their illustrious careers, with the next wave of NFL talent also looking to stake their claims as to whether they can mount a challenge to earn MVP nominations and plaudits from analysts and fans alike.
With an eye towards the future, these are the top young talents who could soon become MVP candidates or earn nominations as they continue to develop their game:
While the former first overall pick is already considered to be amongst the top ranked players in the NFL today after leading the formally dormant Bengals franchise to two AFC Championship games and a Superbowl appearance in consecutive seasons, he may well and truly break out into a serious contender to win the league’s MVP award heading into the 2023/24 season.
At just 26 years of age, Burrow has yet to enter into his prime years as the starting QB, meaning that fans are anticipating that the best is still yet to come from one of the league’s brightest prodigy’s.
In the current DraftKings NFL Futures odds, Burrow is ranked at +750 to win the MVP award this coming season with only the current reigning MVP Patrick Mahomes enjoying slightly better odds at +700, meaning that Burrow should remain as a viable candidate to win the award and potentially bring the first Lombardi trophy to Cincinnati.
However, after a summer that saw the Jags spend big in free agency and hire former Superbowl winning head coach Doug Pederson, the once touted ‘generational’ talent soon blossomed into one of the NFL’s finest stars throughout the latter stages of the 2022/23 season.
Lawrence would finish with the least amount of picks thrown by any starting QB last season and helped the Jags win the AFC South for the first time since 2017, with Lawrence also aspiring the team to mount a miraculous comeback in the Wild Card round after initially trialing 27-0 to the LA Chargers.
Heading into his third season in the league, the Jags look set to reclaim their grip over the AFC South with the 23-year-old QB only being expected to continue to improve his game and become a lively MVP candidate with each passing season.
While the MVP award is now usually handed out to the league’s best QB throughout the regular season, there have been plenty of exceptions in the past where players in other positions have claimed the esteemed honor.
If there is one young star who looks set to become the first non-QB to win the MVP award since Adrian Pederson in 2012, then it is most assuredly set to be Minnesota Vikings Receiver Justin Jefferson who has taken the league by storm since being drafted back in 2020.
Jefferson is one of the most explosive and athletic players in the NFL today as well as being incredibly versatile whilst in motion as he has a near endless highlight reel of impressive plays.
After finishing the 2022/23 season with nearly 2,000 total yards and 128 receptions to eight touchdowns, the former LSU star led the Vikings back to NFC North glory and may have also made a firm case to be amongst the top candidates to be nominated for the league MVP.
Whilst there are other tremendous young talents that have already made an outstanding early impression in the NFL ever since entering into the league, Jefferson is widely considered to be the best young athlete in the NFL today and looks set to become one of the all-time great wide outs in league history if he can avoid any serious setbacks.
Honorable mentions: Ja’Marr Chase (WR) – Cincinnati Bengals, Micah Parsons (LB) – Dallas Cowboys, Justin Herbert (QB) – LA Chargers & Tua Tagovailoa (QB) – Miami Dolphins.
These are just a few of the many super talented youngsters who are set to become the star faces of the league, with MVP honors also being a likely objective for these individuals to obtain as they aim to become some of the most renowned talents in NFL folklore.
