On February 8, 2024 the 2023-2024 NFL MVP will be crowned. The MVP finalists haven’t been announced yet but the players with the best chances and highest odds of winning are known. In this article I will be going over each of the top MVP candidates and giving out the MVP based on who I and the rest of the Steinert students think will take home the NFL MVP.

To start, I will go over the best non-quarterbacks. Unfortunately as the non-quarterbacks of the NFL you are virtually guaranteed to never win an MVP. Only eight non-quarterbacks have won the MVP, all of which are running backs, most recently being Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings in 2012. Christian McCaffery contributed twenty-one total touchdowns to the 49ers #1 ranked sixty offensive touchdowns. CMC also combined for over 2,000 yards from scrimmage and led the offense of the NFC’s #1 seed. In sixteen games Tyreek Hill dropped 1,799 yards and thirteen touchdowns helping the Dolphins come in second in team passing yards and clinching the playoffs. TJ Watt is probably the most valuable defensive player in the league and his team’s MVP with a league-leading nineteen sacks, one interception, eight pass deflections, four forced fumbles, nineteen tackles for loss, thirty-six QB hits, & fifty pressures. He is an absolute game-changer and his abilities lead Pittsburgh to the playoffs. If any defensive player were to win the MVP it would be him.

Now to the quarterbacks. For the quarterbacks I will be looking at passing yards, passing touchdowns, interceptions, passer rating, completion percentage, rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, and team success. The quarterbacks on the MVP frontrunners right now in question are Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens), Dak Prescott (Dallas Cowboys), Brock Purdy (San Francisco 49ers), Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills), Jared Goff (Detroit Lions), Jalen Hurts (Philadelphia Eagles), & Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs)

• Lamar Jackson: 3,678 passing yards, 24 passing touchdowns, 7 picks, 102.7 passer rating, 67.2% completion percentage, 821 rushing yards, 5 rushing touchdowns, & 13-3 as a starter

• Dak Prescott: 4,516 passing yards, 36 passing touchdowns, 9 picks, 105.9 passer rating, 69.5% completion percentage, 242 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns, & 12-5 as a starter

• Brock Purdy: 4,280 passing yards, 31 passing touchdowns, 11 picks, 113.0 passer rating, 69.4% completion percentage, 144 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns, & 12-4 as a starter

• Josh Allen: 4,306 passing yards, 29 passing touchdowns, 18 picks, 92.2 passer rating, 66.5% completion percentage, 524 rushing yards, 15 rushing touchdowns, & 11-6 as a starter

• Jared Goff: 4,575 passing yards, 30 passing touchdowns, 12 picks, 97.9 passer rating, 67.3% completion percentage, 21 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns, & 12-5 as a starter

• Jalen Hurts: 3,858  passing yards, 23 passing touchdowns, 15 picks, 89.1 passer rating, 65.4% completion percentage, 605 rushing yards, 15 rushing touchdowns, & 11-6 as a starter

• Patrick Mahomes: 4,183 passing yards, 27 passing touchdowns, 14 picks, 92.6 passer rating, 67.2% completion percentage, 389 rushing yards, & 10-6 as a starter

Now that the numbers are set let’s start eliminating some of the candidates to give us our top three. Number one off the board is Jalen Hurts. The worst passing numbers and without the tush push would not have great rushing numbers. Another reason is the fact that his team crumbled from 10-1 to 11-6 over their last six games. In those six games Hurts and the team went 1-5, with Hurts throwing five touchdowns, five picks, & an abysmal 60.8% completion percentage & 74.0 passer rating. Next off the board is reigning MVP and Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes put up solid numbers but not MVP numbers. Jared Goff and Brock Purdy both had very solid seasons but to me were not nearly as valuable to their team as my top three with both having great teams around them and game-manager style play.

The three remaining MVP candidates I have are Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, & Dak Prescott. To me, these three are the most valuable quarterbacks in the league. Lamar Jackson led the best team in the league to the #1 AFC Seed with some very solid numbers. Dak Prescott ran one of the best offenses in the league to the #2 NFC Seed. And Josh Allen led the Bills to the #2 AFC Seed. Dak had the best numbers, Lamar had the best team, and Allen performed the best down the stretch. So who deserves the award? In my opinion, it has to be Josh Allen. Over his last five games, Josh Allen turned into Superman, beating Allen, beating three playoff teams (two on the road), five passing touchdowns, five interceptions, six rushing touchdowns, over 1,000 passing yards, and led three go-ahead/game-winning drives. 

Who Steinert thinks the NFL MVP is:

Lamar Jackson: IIIIIIIII

Josh Allen: I

Dak Prescott: 

Out of ten votes Lamar got nine of them. Something interesting though, six out of the ten said CMC even though I only gave them the option of the three quarterbacks. As mentioned previously though, CMC most likely won’t get the award because he is a running back.

Now that I have some Steinert student’s opinions and mine stated it’s time to decide who will win and not just who we think. It’s Lamar. A top three quarterback in the league with really solid numbers and the best record in his conference and smoked the team with the best record in the opposing conference. Lamar Jackson will be the 2023-2024 NFL MVP