Patrick Mahomes is the best player in the NFL. I don’t think there’s any questioning that. I could see a case being made for Aaron Donald, but what Mahomes has done in his young career thus far is unprecedented. We’ve seen other dominant linemen like Reggie White and Bruce Smith before, but never anything like Mahomes. By the time Super Bowl LV is played, Mahomes could be a two-time champion, a two-time Super Bowl MVP and a two-time regular-season MVP despite starting just three years in the league. If he remains on this trajectory, he’ll be the greatest quarterback in NFL history.
Despite this, I believe Aaron Rodgers should be named MVP over Mahomes.
If this seems contradictory to you, I must remind you what MVP stands for. Most Valuable Player. If it were MTP – Most Talented Player – Mahomes would win every year, hands down. If we’re discussing how valuable a quarterback is to his team, however, Rodgers has the edge.
Of course, the question must be asked: How do we define how valuable a quarterback is? It’s not something we can determine statistically, after all. Whenever I ask myself this question, I wonder the following:
If Quarterback X were removed from his team and replaced with an average starter, how would the team do?
We already know the answer with the Chiefs. Prior to his gruesome leg injury, Alex Smith was the most mediocre starting quarterback in the NFL. Yet, despite Smith starting for the Chiefs, they made the playoffs in five of the six years he started for Kansas City, and the lone exception saw the Chiefs finish with a 9-7 record. Blessed with one of the top coaches in the NFL and a plethora of talent at his disposal, Smith was able manage his team to many victories. And unless I’m missing something, the Chiefs still have Andy Reid, Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, Sammy Watkins, Chris Jones, Frank Clark, Tyrann Mathieu and other skilled players. Matt Moore even won two games with them last year!
With that in mind, asking where the Packers would be with a mediocre quarterback at the helm is an easy question to answer. They certainly would not be in the playoff mix.
Furthermore, Rodgers’ own team tried to sabotage his season! The Packers had a precious first-round pick in which they could have drafted someone to help Rodgers. Receivers like Brandon Aiyuk, Tee Higgins, Michael Pittman Jr., Laviska Shenault and Chase Claypool were all logical choices who would have looked great with Rodgers. Instead, the front office pulled the trigger on another quarterback.
Despite this, Rodgers has been terrific this year, propelling his team to the No. 1 seed in the conference. He has overcome all the odds, and that should make him the MVP winner.
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