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Drew Brees Given 25-1 Odds to Win NFL MVP After Week 8 Return, Rodgers Still Favored

Eric Rosales

by Eric Rosales in NFL Football

Updated Apr 2, 2020 · 3:40 PM PDT

Drew Brees celebrates with Saints teammates
Drew Brees had a triumphant return to action from a five-week absence with a thumb injury. Photo from @nypost (Twitter).
  • Drew Brees returned to the Saints in Week 8 and dismantled the Cardinals
  • The Saints pivot has emerged in the top 10 of the NFL MVP odds
  • Read below to see if he’s worthy of a wager, or if there are better options through Week 8 of the season

Don’t look now, but a certain Saint has jumped back into the NFL MVP odds.

Five weeks down recuperating from an injured thumb on his throwing hand, and New Orleans pivot Drew Brees didn’t skip a beat.

2019 NFL MVP Odds

Player Pos Team Odds
Aaron Rodgers QB GB +225
Russell Wilson QB SEA +275
Christian McCaffrey RB CAR +800
Patrick Mahomes QB KC +800
Lamar Jackson QB BAL +900
Deshaun Watson QB HOU +1000
Tom Brady QB NE +1600
Kirk Cousins QB MIN +1800
Drew Brees QB NO +2500
Dak Prescott QB DAL +3300

*Odds taken October 29

The last time Brees had odds was September 18, coming in at +7500. Prior to the injury, he’d seen his odds in the regular season as low as +1300, before reemerging heading into Week 9 at +2500. With the Saints in the thick of the race for top seed in the NFC, is Brees a legitimate player in the MVP picture?

Thumbs Up for Brees Against Cardinals

The last time we saw Brees, he and the Saints were under siege against the Rams in Los Angeles, as New Orleans lost their franchise player and were subsequently crushed 27-9, dropping them to 1-1.

Do you think sure-fire Hall of Famers – and in this case, the NFL’s all-time passing yards leader – suffer from bouts of insecurity? Look no further than Brees, who returned to the lineup, even though under the guidance of backup Teddy Bridgewater, the Saints had gone 5-0 sans Brees.

Situated at 6-1, and with just one game before their bye week, the safe play should have been to give Brees two more full weeks of recovery. Instead, rather than having to be the central talking-head topic of a potential QB controversy – as Bridgwater would likely have lead them to a 6-0 mark into the bye – he had plans of restoring order immediately.

And he was great against Arizona, going 34-for-43 (a 79% completion clip) for 373 yards and three TD’s – his highest passing yardage output since he went for 396 in Week 3 of the 2018 season.

Coming out of the bye and with Brees getting those reps under his belt, New Orleans gets the lowly Falcons and Buccaneers, before facing a potentially still Cam-less Panthers. They get the Falcons again before a super showdown with the 49ers, in a game that could decide the top seed in the NFC and home field throughout the playoffs.

Is Brees a Legitimate MVP Candidate?

It would take an unreal second half of the season for Brees to get into the statistical realm of some of the other MVP candidates, which seems unlikely. For a player that’s missed five games of a 16-game slate, to win MVP he’s going to have to the go the tried and true method of being the best player on the best team.

That’s going to be quite a chore as well. Currently, the Packers share an identical 7-1 mark with the Packers, and Aaron Rodgers has rightly taken the reigns as the MVP favorite, coming off a 6-TD pass performance against the Raiders, and then following that up with a stellar win in Arrowhead. Right now, I’d consider him the best bet.

While the 7-0 49ers don’t have an MVP candidate (which is kinda scary), Russell Wilson is still in the mix as the driving force behind the Seahawks, and Patrick Mahomes will probably need to miss one or two more games, but his greatness should have him back in the running in no time.

Which is all to say that although a Brees wager appears to present value, there are too many other viable betting options you should target ahead of him.

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