Top 5 Dark Horse NFL Most Valuable Player: Josh Allen Leads The Pack

Aside from the reputable Lombardi trophy given to Super Bowl winners each year, the NFL Most Valuable Player is one of the huge prizes at stake in football. This award is given to the football players, like quarterbacks, who displayed the most scoring and showed impressive performance throughout the season. 

Every year, you see big names that are candidates for this award like Lamar Jackson, DeShaun Watson, Patrick Mahomes, and Tom Brady. Although these players have already proven their skills in the field, other talents can go beyond what they have shown. It may surprise the fans, but there are dark horses in today’s NFL season who might deserve the NFL MVP Award. 

The 2020-21 NFL regular playoffs will start on September 10, 2020, where the Texans and Chiefs open the tournament. From a surprise trade of players to roster changes, the drama will continue as the NFL this year progresses. To get more excited, let us know the NFL MVP odds of the five dark-horse players who might deserve the said recognition. 

Josh Allen 

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Topping the list for a dark-horse NFL MVP Award is Josh Allen. He has all the criteria of what a real valuable football player looks like. Allen joined the Buffalo Bills in 2018, and since then, he has made an impact playing for the team. Besides, he was an MVP recipient in the 2017 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl and an achiever in the Second Team All-Mountain West in 2016.

In the last two years that he started playing in the NFL, Josh Allen has tremendously shown an emphatic performance boosting his record. His completion percentage was from 52.8 in 2018 to 58.8 in 2019. Apart from that, his touchdown-to-interception was from 10:12 in 2018 and went to 20:9 in 2019.Because of Allen working with other key players, the Bills were able to set a record-breaking double-digit victory in this era. 

Baker Mayfield 

In his two-year professional football career, Baker Mayfield is now one of the dark horses you should consider for the NFL MVP Award. Joining the Cleveland Browns in 2018, Mayfield worked as the starting quarterback. Though a rookie, he was able to manage a stellar performance recording 27 touchdown passes. 

Unlike Allen, Mayfield has been earning prestigious awards before entering the NFL. He bagged four significant football trophies in 2017 which includes Davey O’ Brien Award, Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award, and Heisman Trophy. As he works out for the Brown this year with plenty of talents connecting to him, the NFL MVP should not elude from him. 

Ezekiel Elliot 

Allen Hurns (17) stands next to Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4)

Dak Prescott is undeniably the Dallas Cowboys best man, but Ezekiel Elliot will be an unstoppable player for the team this year. He is playing as the starting running back for the Cowboys, and his talent is one of his weapons why he can be a dark-horse in the NFL MVP Award this year. 

Although Elliot had a contract holdout last year, which dipped his performance a bit, he’s going back today full of hopes to send the Cowboys to surprising wins. Under new head coach Mike McCarthy, there is no question that Zeke Elliot, along with his teammates, can achieve double-digit wins this NFL season. 

Derek Carr 

Former Vikings QB Rich Gannon, the last MVP to come out of Oakland not named Tupac

Derek Carr is a three-time Pro-Bowler who works as the starting quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders. He joined the team in 2014 and has shown excellent plays in the last season. With many names coming out this year as candidates for the NFL MVP Award, Derek Carr is one of the dark horses to watch out for. 

Before suffering a leg injury last year, Carr was unstoppable in all his games. He was able to record 143-62 touchdown-interception. His passing percentage rating was at 90.7. Today, he looks great and has fully recovered from the injury and is ready to play for the Raiders in their quest for the Super Bowl LV title. 

Alvin Kamara 

a negative times a negative is a positive usually, but not when the Saints play the Packers outside of a volcano

For the past ten years, only four players recorded 2,000 yards receiving and passing in their first season, and Kamara is one of them. As a running back working for the New Orleans Saints, he is one reason why this group dominated the NFC South and league playoffs last year. 

One of the reasons Kamara is a dark horse candidate for the NFL MVP Award is his multifaceted skills inside the field. The NFL is full of toughest guys portraying different roles, yet Kamara can challenge them by all means. If he continues to do the same and even do more, then he might get the MVP Award effortlessly this season.

Takeaway

The race to the NFL MVP Award is high especially it’s the most prestigious recognition given to football players. Every year, players do their best to set an eye-popping score to deserve this award. Hence, there is no doubt that like the famous guys we know who dominated this award for many years might be taken away by one of the players above. 

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