π Who are the early front-runners for NFL MVP? β SkimNews
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- Brock Purdy collected six of 16 votes from NFL coaches, executives and personnel staff as the early MVP pick, leading the league with an 83.1 QBR and a tie for the touchdown-pass lead at 14 while completing 69.6% of throws for 1,460 yards with two interceptions and just five sacks.
- Brock Purdy posted the season's best QB QBR in Week 2 against the Dolphins at 99.7, completing 18 straight passes and becoming the first QB in NFL history to throw for 250-plus yards on a 90%-plus completion rate while adding 30-plus rushing yards; he capped Week 6 with a 55-yard deep throw to Mike Evans against the Commanders.
- San Francisco 49ers go 6-0 despite placing a league-high 22 players on injured reserve, but they have faced only one team with a winning record (the 4-2 Broncos) and aren't set to play another above .500 until Week 11 against the Vikings, the scheduling caveat executives weigh against their quarterback.
- Josh Allen earned four votes on an NFL-high 17 total touchdowns, including a career-high 121 rushing yards (91 in the fourth quarter and overtime) in Buffalo's 37-34 overtime win over the Rams, even though the Bills' defense gave up 29-plus points in five of six games and Allen threw an interception into double coverage in the Week 4 loss to the Patriots.
- Kenneth Walker III picked up three votes as the NFL's leader in broken tackles at 52 on 43% of his touches, averaging 6.3 yards per carry (665 yards, six touchdowns) for the 5-0 Chiefs, whose coaches plan to trim his workload for rookie Emmett Johnson as Patrick Mahomes returns from ACL surgery and takes back offensive snaps.
- Bijan Robinson drew two votes after rushing for 194 yards and two touchdowns against the Packers and 145 yards and two more against the Saints, gaining 233 yards on 47 carries first contacted behind the line β twice the next-best mark of Chuba Hubbard's 111 β while tracking to 1,816 rushing and 2,224 all-purpose yards for a 2-4 Falcons team 1.5 games behind the Panthers.
- Adrian Peterson is the benchmark for non-quarterbacks, winning the last non-QB MVP in 2012 with 2,000-plus rushing yards, eight shy of the single-season record, while Barry Sanders' 9-7 Lions shared the 1997 award β the team-success bar the source applies to Walker and Robinson.
Why it matters: Purdy's six votes are the most of 16 insiders, but Allen (4), Walker (3) and Robinson (2) sit close behind, and the source notes a wide receiver also made the top five. San Francisco's NFL-high 22 players on injured reserve and a slate with one winning-record opponent (the 4-2 Broncos) until Week 11 leave the race as wide open as the poll shows.
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