New England Patriots - NESN.com
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye has the best odds to win NFL MVP at the moment. There are still eight weeks to go in the regular season, but Maye’s MVP candidacy is undeniably impressive, especially for a 23-year-old NFL sophomore.
Believe it or not, Maye winning the award this season wouldn’t be an outrageous development in the history of the league. There have been six occasions in which an NFL player in their second season won MVP. The list of guys who have done it does feature some massive names, however, which would make Maye look like a future Hall of Famer (hey, why not?).
Here’s the list of second-year NFL MVPs, starting with Jim Brown, who also won the award his rookie season:
Jim Brown (1958), Cleveland Browns
Earl Campbell (1979), Houston Oilers
Dan Marino (1984), Miami Dolphins
Kurt Warner (1999), St. Louis Rams
Patrick Mahomes (2018), Kansas City Chiefs
Lamar Jackson (2019), Baltimore Ravens
Maye didn’t play his best game of the season in Week 10, but by picking up the win (New England is now 8-2) and throwing two touchdown passes, Maye did enough to surge ahead to the top of the MVP odds.
Behind Maye (in order) are Mahomes, Los Angeles Rams’ Matthew Stafford, Indianapolis Colts’ Jonathan Taylor, and Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen (the reigning NFL MVP).
Maye will face off against Allen and the Bills for the second time this season in Week 15 at Gillette Stadium. The Pats snagged an enormous victory at Buffalo in Week 5.
New England is now 5-0 on the road this season.
