Will Patrick Mahomes have to top himself to win another MVP?

Will Patrick Mahomes need to top himself to win his next MVP award?

Patick Mahomes has already won one Most Valuable Player Award and he’s come close to another. He’s won a Pro Bowl MVP honor, and he’s been crowned the best player overall in Super Bowl LIV. But for Mahomes to win another regular season MVP award, can he simply continue to do what he’s been doing all along?

The question is important because Albert Breer brings up an interesting point in his most recent column over at Monday Morning Quarterback. The latest MVP odds are out and Breer breaks them down, but he lists Mahomes and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson together—Jackson won last year’s MVP award—at No. 5 overall. We’ll let him explain his reasoning:

"This has nothing to do with how good I think these guys will be. It’s more so a commentary on how good they’ll need to be to win the award. Again, these awards are tied to storylines, and either of these guys just being awesome again probably won’t be enough. They’ll have to top what they’ve done before, and that won’t be easy."

“They have to top what they’ve done before.” That’s the key angle here. Other quarterbacks have the storyline working in their favor, argues Breer, like Deshaun Watson. Let’s say Watson fares well even after losing DeAndre Hopkins via trade, he will look like an excellent candidate. For players like Mahomes and Jackson, they’ve already proven themselves and they play for contenders. If they win a lot and perform well, does that really warrant an award? (That’s what Breer’s argument boils down to, and he’s only stating how voters will view things).

Breer makes some very intriguing points overall and it’s important to consider all of this. But a player should not be penalized for being consistently great. Mahomes already looks like the best young player at his position to come along in a long time. He’s already given a franchise their first Super Bowl victory in a half century. He’s put up astronomical numbers when a pitiful defense forced every game into a shootout.

It sounds silly that Mahomes would have to throw more than 50 touchdowns in order to win another MVP award. Then again, NFL voters might get “bored” of stamping such an obvious name on the ballot every year. Sad to say, Breer might be might. In the end, Mahomes might have an MVP or two “stolen” from him simply because some voters wanted to keep things interesting or create an angle for which the NFL MVP vote isn’t so automatic.