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2020 NFL MVP Lamar Jackson’s Odds to Win Award Opened at +8000 – Trubisky Had Better Odds

Robert Duff

by Robert Duff in NFL Football

Updated Feb 1, 2020 · 3:49 PM PST

Lamar Jackson running with football
When the 2019 NFL season opened, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was listed with odds of +8000 to claim the NFL MVP Award he won on Saturday. Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire.
  • Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson won the NFL MVP Award on Saturday
  • Jackson opened with odds of +8000 to be named MVP on May 31, 2019
  • The Ravens star rushed for 1,206 yards this season, an NFL record for QBs

If you took a flyer on Lamar Jackson to win the 2019 NFL MVP when sportsbooks first released odds on the award, you’re soaring without need of an airplane today.

Jackson, the Baltimore Ravens quarterback, was named NFL MVP on Saturday. He opened at +8000 in the NFL MVP odds back when betting was first offered on this outcome on May 31 of last year.

A $100 wager on Jackson at that point would’ve seen you collecting a cool $8,000 profit today. Or, 1,000 times the #8 that Jackson wears on his Ravens jersey.

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When betting on the NFL MVP opened, reigning league MVP Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs held forth as the +400 favorite.

Many Ahead Of Jackson

Following Mahomes on the odds board in that opening line were several other QBs, none of whom were Jackson.

Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints was at +700. Next after him in the odds were Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers and Andrew Luck of the Indianapolis Colts, who opted to retire just prior to the start of the season. Both were at +800.

Tom Brady of the New England Patriots (+1000), Baker Mayfield of the Cleveland Browns (+1400) and Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks (+1600) were other QBs who rated among the top contenders.

There were several other names with odds as good or better than Jackson in the opening NFL MVP line, including these players:

  • Chicago Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky
  • Oakland Raiders WR Antonio Brown
  • Tennessee Titans QB Marcus Mariota
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston

Jackson Put Up MVP Numbers

It wasn’t merely his record-setting rushing numbers. Jackson was an all-around performer for the Ravens this season. He passed for 3,127 yards and 36 TDs. He ran for another seven scores. Jackson led Baltimore to an NFL-best 14-2 record. He led the league in TD passes and quarterback rating (81.9).

By opening kickoff of the regular season, Jackson’s MVP odds were down to +4075. He tied a franchise record with five TD passes in a season-opening 59-10 win over the Dolphins in Miami. Jackson’s first nine pass attempts of the season were all completions. Four of them went for TDs.

Overnight, his MVP odds dipped to +1400. By late September, his average odds were down to +867. However, successive losses to the Chiefs and Cleveland Browns saw his line jump to +3050 in mid-October.

After the Ravens posted back-to-back wins over MVP contender Wilson and the Seahawks, and Brady and the Patriots, Jackson found himself running with the big dogs at odds of +317. Stuff was getting real now, and the growth of his aura would only continue.

Consecutive 40-plus point performances against the Cincinnati Bengals and Houston Texans put Jackson in the driver’s seat. He was the odds-on -225 chalk to be MVP by the end of November.

His odds dropped as low as -10,000 on Christmas Day. The most recent numbers put Jackson as the -5,000 favorite.

Second Straight Longshot To Come In

At the start of the 2018 NFL campaign, Chiefs QB Mahomes was a player with one career starting assignment under his belt. To locate him on the opening 2018 NFL MVP line, you would’ve found yourself requiring the aid of a search party. Mahomes’ odds opened at +10000 in 2018.

Brady began as the +600 favorite but it wasn’t long before Mahomes was playing himself into the reckoning. He threw an NFL-record 13 touchdown passes in his first three games.

By November, Mahomes had moved into the favorite’s role. Like Jackson, he closed out the season as the odds-on favorite to win the award.

Who’s Next Season’s Potential Jackson/Mahomes?

Odds are that Jackson won’t be MVP again in 2020. The NFL has presented an MVP Award since 1957. The same player has won in back-to-back years just five times.

Still, it’s quite likely that next year’s MVP will be a QB. The last seven MVPs and 12 of the last 13 were QBs.

Both Mahomes and Jackson became full-time starters during the MVP seasons. Mahomes took over for the departed Alex Smith. In 2018, Jackson and Joe Flacco split time under center with the Ravens. Flacco was traded to Denver following the season.

Taking all of these factors into consideration, who are the candidates out there to carry on the tradition of a longshot coming through established by Mahomes and maintained by Jackson?

For starters, there’s Daniel Jones. Now that Eli Manning has retired, the future of the New York Giants is in his hands. Jones threw 24 TDs and completed 61.9% of his passes last season. And he does have Saquon Barkley in the backfield.

Another possibility is Drew Lock of the Denver Broncos. He stepped in as starter for Denver in Week 13 and led the Broncos to a 4-1 record. His only loss was to Mahomes and the Chiefs. Lock threw seven TDs and 1,020 yards in those five games.

Like Jackson, he also followed Flacco as the Denver starter. So there’s that.

For the most intriguing, out-there possibility, how about Jarrett Stidham? Brady’s a free agent. Suppose he opts out of New England, and Stidham takes over?

Like Mahomes, Stidham would be at the helm of a team that was a playoff participant the prior season if Brady leaves.

For sure, Stidham is a longshot but so were Mahomes and Jackson.

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