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If Not Tom Brady, Then Who? Analyzing the Best Alternative MVP Candidates
- Updated: December 15, 2016
This year’s MVP race is being run on a muddy track, uphill, with candidates carrying 100-pound cement bags on their backs.
No MVP candidate can separate himself from the pack. And the pack is having a hard time separating from the field. Heading into Week 15, the MVP short list looks like a rough draft in need of revision.
Here are the most common names being batted around and the reason why each is such an uninspiring choice.
Tom Brady: Missing a quarter of the season, for whatever reason, damages a player’s resume. But there is more to it than that. You know how comic book fans never pick Superman as the best superhero because they are always seeking some hipper alternative? That’s how the voters may feel about Brady, even though he has had an excellent (partial) season, even by his standards.
Derek Carr: Laid an egg in the most important game of the year/his career last Thursday. MVP candidates don’t have to be perfect, but Carr doesn’t have the reputation or track record to lay high-profile eggs yet.
Dak Prescott: Became the first person to go from MVP hopeful to the people’s choice for an immediate benching in just over three hours Sunday night.
Ezekiel Elliott: If you aren’t going to vote for the rookie quarterback on the 11-2 team, it feels weird to vote for the rookie running back on the 11-2 team.
Matt Ryan: A really strong candidate. Ryan already has over 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns for a playoff contender, performing well against many tough opponents. But selecting Ryan feels too much like getting confused by the menu at a fancy bistro and settling for the turkey wrap.
Matthew Stafford: His eight fourth-quarter comebacks this year are remarkable, though they make you wonder what this cool outsider MVP candidate is doing during the first 75 percent of every game to always have to come from behind. Snark aside, Stafford is having a very good season. But he’s the candidate you talk yourself into, then wonder later why you didn’t just select Tom Brady.
With such a lackluster field, you may be looking for an alternative MVP candidate to consider. Well, look no further. The following players have strong numbers and are essential contributors to their teams. Some choices may sound a little wackier than others. But in a world where we are seriously considering Stafford for MVP because he led comebacks against teams like the Rams, Jaguars and Bears, all of these players deserve to have their cases heard.
Le’Veon Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers
2016 accomplishments: 1,053 yards and 563 receiving yards in 10 games, 118 carries for 620 yards and five touchdowns during the current four-game Steelers winning streak.
Without him, the Steelers would be: In pretty good shape, actually, thanks to DeAngelo Williams. But Bell’s awesome backup should not be held against him in an MVP debate.
Devil’s advocate: Bell, like Brady, was suspended at the start of the season. More troublingly, he carried 62 times for 223 yards and one touchdown during the four-game losing streak when Ben Roethlisberger was …
