Three reasons Patrick Mahomes can still win NFL MVP

Running backs’ chances at the award are low

In the last 20 seasons, 17 quarterbacks have won the NFL’s most valuable player award, a whopping 85 percent of the time. Quarterbacks touch the ball every single play and in today’s passing league, they tend to make the greatest impact towards winning a championship.

Running backs have won the other three, with the award going to Shaun Alexander in 2005, Ladainian Tomlinson in 2006, and Adrian Peterson in 2012. Each of these players surpassed significant milestones for the position in their MVP seasons, and only Peterson was not the member of a team that ended the season as their conference’s top seed.

A running back that wasn’t a member of a top-seeded team has only won the NFL MVP in one out of the last 20 seasons. Peterson also rushed for 2,097 yards, something only six players had done before him and fell just eight yards shy of Eric Dickerson’s all-time record.

I’d argue Jonathan Taylor is the first running back in several seasons whose impact on his team justifies the argument he’s the MVP. Unfortunately, analytics has faded the usage of running backs from the game.

It’s hard to imagine Taylor can generate enough steam to overtake a quarterback in today’s NFL, especially with the two upcoming quarterbacks gaining momentum for the award.