The Falcoholic
So you’re saying...there’s a chance?
It’s July, and we’re just days away from the start of the Atlanta Falcons’ 2025 Training Camp.
This is that golden stretch of the calendar when hope runs high across all 32 NFL teams. It’s also the perfect time to play a little projection game: Which player could make a legit MVP case from each franchise?
NFL Media’s Eric Edholm recently took a stab at that very question, naming one MVP-caliber talent from every roster. Some picks were obvious; no one needs to argue on behalf of Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen. But others? They required a bit more imagination, especially when the player in question isn’t a quarterback.
Edholm didn’t shy away from the cold truth: Quarterbacks run the MVP table. Twelve straight MVPs have gone to QBs, and 49 of the 68 total winners (72%) have played the position. With the modern passing game evolving the way it has, it’s tough to envision a non-quarterback taking home the award.
Case in point: Saquon Barkley**.**
Last season, Barkley racked up a staggering 2,283 yards from scrimmage — the most since Christian McCaffrey’s historic 2019 season — including 2,005 rushing yards, making him just the ninth player in NFL history to eclipse 2,000.
And he still finished third.
So with all that said, when it comes to the Falcons, you’d think the natural MVP pick would be second-year quarterback Michael Penix Jr., right?
Well…maybe.
Sure, the world only got a three-game sample of Penix, but those three starts were electric. They arrived just as Kirk Cousins was putting together one of the roughest stretches of his career. From Weeks 10–15, Cousins ranked 30th in adjusted EPA/play among 32 qualified QBs (per rbsdm.com), ahead of only Cooper Rush and Drew Lock. He also ranked dead last in Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt (ANY/A) among QBs with 100+ passes over that span.
Penix didn’t light up the stat sheet; he threw for three touchdowns and three picks, and went 1–2, but there was a jolt of life in the offense that had clearly been missing.
Even so, Edholm bypassed the young QB and instead zeroed in on Atlanta’s true offensive centerpiece:
Some will disagree with this choice, and given that only three running backs have won an MVP award since 2001 (and none since 2012), history is on my skeptics’ side. Look at Saquon Barkley last year — he racked up 2,283 yards from scrimmage, registered just the ninth 2,000-yard rushing season in league annals ... and finished third in the balloting.
*It’s going to take a Barkley-esque yardage total and 20-plus TDs, I suspect, for Robinson to be a serious candidate. But I like his chances better right now than those of Michael Penix Jr., a talented but unproven quarterback....
