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After Week 10 of the 2017 National Football League (NFL) season, the regular season is officially more than halfway over, as all teams have played more than eight games. While some teams still have seven games left to play, the NFL's Most Valuable Player (MVP) picture is becoming increasingly clearer, at least as far as the possible candidates go. Here are the current top five.
#5 Jared Goff, quarterback, Los Angeles Rams (7-2)
The highest scoring offence in the NFL belongs to the Los Angeles Rams just one season after they had the worst scoring offence in the league. That can be attributed to the complete 180-degree turn quarterback Jared Goff has taken after a rookie season in which he threw just five touchdowns and seven interceptions and looked like a certain first-round draft bust. Now, he is one of the top candidates to win the league's MVP award.
Through nine games so far this season, Goff has completed 172 of his 281 passes for 2,385 yards. In fact, his 8.49 yards per attempt leads the league, and no other National Football Conference (NFC) quarterback is even close to that mark. With 16 touchdowns and just four interceptions, the 23-year-old's 4:1 touchdown to interception ratio is also phenomenal even though it doesn't quite lead the NFL.
There is still a lot of the season left to be played, but if the season ended today, Goff would certainly be in the top 5 in the NFL MVP voting.
#4 Todd Gurley, running back, Los Angeles Rams (7-2)
While Jared Goff may not be a runner, his Rams teammate Todd Gurley is, and he is the best in the business at it. While Goff leads the league's highest-scoring offence from under center, Gurley is the key playmaker on that offence. Since being drafted two years ago, he has been a figure Rams' opponents simply cannot afford to ignore. In the 2017 season, he has taken that status to another level on a Rams team that have a decent shot at winning Super Bowl LII (52).
Through nine games so far this season, Gurley leads the league in both scrimmage yards and touchdowns, having managed 10 touchdowns on 1,160 yards. Of those 1,160 yards, 754 have come on the ground and 406 have come through the air on 35 receptions, and of those 10 touchdowns, seven have come on the ground with three coming through the air.
#3 Tom Brady, quarterback, New England Patriots (7-2)
Here we are nine games into the 2017 NFL season, and no one has managed to inform Tom Brady that he is 40 years old. No, I stand corrected; they tried that after his abysmal Week 1 performance against the Kansas City Chiefs, and all he has done since then is win seven of eight games and shoot to the league lead in passing yards and the American Football Conference (AFC) lead in passing touchdowns.
Brady is in the mix to win the MVP award every season and for good reason. The man who most people consider to be the greatest quarterback of all-time has thrown for a league-leading 2,807 yards so far this season with 19 touchdowns, tied for 2nd in the league, and just two interceptions. Super Bowl appearance #8 and Super Bowl win #6 are well within his sights.
#2 Alex Smith, quarterback, Kansas City Chiefs (6-3)
Rest assured no one will be calling Alex Smith a "game manager" after what he has been able to do so far this season. After he torched the New England Patriots in Week 1, his stellar performance was regarded by many as a fluke. While the Chiefs, who started the season 5-0, have lost three of their last four games, Smith has proven time and time again that that performance was no fluke.
Smith's career-high passing touchdown total in a season is 23, a total he recorded four years ago in 2013. Through nine games so far this season, he has already thrown for 18 touchdowns on 2,444 yards, while giving just one interception. While not generally perceived as a running threat, he has done a nice job on the ground this season, running for 173 yards and a touchdown. What's that about "game manager"?
#1 Carson Wentz, quarterback, Philadelphia Eagles (8-1)
The best player in the NFL right now is the man who sits at #1 on this list, and that is Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz. Wentz is leading the high-octane Eagles offence in a way no quarterback has done for this franchise in the Super Bowl era. After he faded away last season following a promising start to his NFL career as a rookie, not many people expected Wentz to explode like he has this season.
Through nine games so far this season, the MVP front-runner cannot possibly be anyone but Wentz. Wentz has thrown for 2,262 yards, and his passing touchdown total of 23 is four higher than any other quarterback in the league. While he has thrown five interceptions, more than the other three quarterbacks on this list, interceptions don't mean much if a team is still winning. The Eagles are doing just that, as they have the league's best record (8-1) and are on a 7-game winning streak.
