There are a few candidates for Most Valuable Player in 2017, headlined by New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. There are arguments for players like Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson or Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley, but there’s only one correct answer according to Peter King in Monday Morning Quarterback.
“With a week to play, the MVP on my ballot is Tom Brady,” King writes. “ Playing without his top target (Julian Edelman), playing while his team’s defense was being fixed on the fly, playing while taking a consistent beating, and playing at age 40 (that doesn’t matter, but it’s a part of his story), Brady has struggled some in December (four TDs, five interceptions). But he’s still 3-1 this month. And in the Patriots’ 9-2 start, his TD-to-pick ratio was 26-to-3. I think Gurley has been an eye-opening phenom on the Rams’ recent run to a surprising division title. He’s a great player. Brady’s a more valuable player to his team, and in the league.”
King notes that his top three would be Brady, Wilson, and then Gurley and I think that’s a fair trio.
Gurley has been outstanding this year and leads the NFL with 2,093 yards from scrimmage and 19 touchdowns, just the 15th player to gain 2,000+ yards and score 19+ touchdowns in NFL history. He’s gained more than 100 yards in 12 different games and he’s produced all year.
Wilson is carrying a broken defense and a terrible offense right now. His 32 passing touchdowns rank 2nd in the NFL and he’s gained 550 rushing yards and 3 rushing touchdowns. He’s close to single-handedly the reason why the Seahawks aren’t picking in the top 10 of the 2018 NFL Draft.
But it’s Brady that’s the assumed MVP and deservedly so. Brady leads the NFL in passing yards and yards per attempt. His passer rating of 104.2 ranks 2nd and he ranks 3rd in passing touchdowns. The Patriots are in position to have homefield advantage. He has the statistics and the team success.
2017 isn’t even close to Brady’s best season. His 2016 season was more impressive, as was his 2015 and 2011. But this looks like it’s finally the year where the voters aren’t going to make any more excuses to give the award to someone else and Brady will have his third career MVP award.