NFL Odds – Who is your 2016 MVP?

When a legend moves on, it leaves a void that can sometimes to be difficult to fill. The first NBA season after MJ retired was just eerie, as the league looked for a new superstar to take the reigns, but nobody really emerged in a messed up, strike-shortened year. The NFL is a little more prepared for the retirement of one of their GOATs, as Peyton Manning wasn’t even the best quarterback on his own team last year.

But even as his skills deteriorated, Peyton’s name carried more weight than anyone else in the league. Aaron Rodgers may carry the title of best quarterback in the game; but the race for most popular is wide-open. That’s one of the reasons this year’s MVP race will be so entertaining: the NFL’s current Mount Rushmore has an opening, and winning the league’s highest honor could help more than a few players get their face up there.

Obviously, Tom Brady’s chiseled face sat next to Manning’s for years now, sporting a smug grin that knows it’s better than all of us. Brady’s name has probably been mentioned more than any other player this offseason, but that’s only because of the lingering effects of “Deflategate.” The 39-year-old QB would love to put that saga behind him and win a third league MVP, but missing a quarter of the season will be a huge obstacle. The last MVP to miss even close to that many games was Joe Montana, who started just 13 games in 1989.

Rodgers is the undisputed current best, capable of things that no other QBs can even dream of (like throwing two Hail Mary’s on one drive). But even he is capable of down years, playing only so-so without top receiver Jordy Nelson in the lineup. Can he win his third MVP award to match former Packers great Brett Favre?

Though the NFL MVP award favors quarterbacks, this metaphorical Mount Rushmore doesn’t, meaning the third spot obviously belongs to J.J. Watt. The beastly defensive end nearly became just the third defensive player to win MVP in 2014, losing out to Rodgers. But he remains so dominant, he gets the honor of being the only defender on the odds board.

That leaves the fourth space blank, and a number of candidates capable of filling it. Could it be occupied by Ben Roethlisberger, the two-time Super Bowl champion who has had a great 12-year career, but is missing that one truly iconic season (and is still dogged by jokes about his alleged sexual assault)? Perhaps it will be a quarterback from that next generation of Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson, and Cam Newton. Newton beat the other two to the punch, winning MVP last year; but his post-Super Bowl presser didn’t exactly win him fans. If he wins another though, his greatness can’t be denied.

It’s also not uncommon for a running back to tear it up for a year and win the award; it’s a little more rare for their career to stay awesome afterwords. Adrian Peterson rose up to win an NFL MVP in 2012, and despite being suspended for almost all of 2014, he can still lay claim to the title of league’s best rusher. But sophomore Todd Gurley is drawing comparisons to Peterson; can he live up to that lofty praise by winning some hardware?

The thing that always shocks me when discussing the NFL MVP race, is that no wide receiver – not even Jerry Rice – has won this honor. Yet, there’s a feeling Antonio Brown could make a real case for it this season. Seemingly overlooked for years, Brown is the game’s best pass catcher, and given the talent in this league, that’s saying something. Rob Gronkowski could also put together a strong case if he succeeds during his four games without Brady.

But as much stock as I’ve put in claiming a spot on the mountain, there’s always a chance a complete rando could string together one good year and take home the award. History is littered with names -Bert Jones, Brian Sipe, Rich Gannon, Mark Moseley – that prove the MVP race is a total crapshoot.

That being said, craps is a pretty fun game. So why not roll the dice? Here’s the odds for who will claim the 2016 MVP.

NFL MVP Odds:

• Aaron Rodgers: 6/1
• Ben Roehtlisberger: 6/1
• Cam Newton: 7/1
• Russell Wilson: 8/1
• Andrew Luck: 10/1
• Tom Brady: 14/1
• Carson Palmer: 20/1
• Adrian Peterson: 20/1
• Tony Romo: 28/1
• Eli Manning: 28/1
• Todd Gurley: 33/1
• Drew Brees: 33/1
• Antonio Brown: 40/1
• Andy Dalton:  40/1
• Matt Ryan: 40/1
• JJ Watt: 50/1
• Philip Rivers: 50/1
• Rob Gronkowski: 50/1
  

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(Photo credit: Brook Ward (Originally uploaded to Flickr. Photo has been cropped.)[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/])