What is the league MVP? We all have our personal credentials and our thoughts to what the league MVP should be. There have been some off the chart players during the season, with Tom Brady, Carson Wentz, and even Case Keenum, and his leadership. But there are really 3 guys who need to get the serious look.
Todd Gurley, Antonio Brown, and Russell Wilson.
Lets examine closer.
Todd Gurley / LA Rams / RB
Outside of Gurley, the Rams have a far less dangerous offense, the Rams should be grateful they have him to help them score. With 42% of the teams TDs, without him and his nose for the end zone, and his 19 total TDs they would be in trouble. The Rams have a truly devastating player for their team. Gurley has been able to do anything that was needed to get done against teams. With 13 rushing TDs, on 19 carries/game, and a stout 4.7 YDs/carry – he set the bar for RBs this year.
Early on in the season, vs division rival, San Fran, Gurley ran for 113 YDs, along with 36 receiving yards, and 3 total TDs – he was the catalyst for a team that had some problems stopping the ball during that game, and with no one else was bringing anything worth a pile of peanuts. But, he got them going in the right direction, yet again. If teams stop the passing game of LA, it’s Gurley who takes the “give the ball to me” attitude and leads them to the big win. Gurley is a always a big-play threat, he also serves as the main outlet in the Rams passing game. And when Goff gets rushed, and he gets in trouble, he looks to Gurley to get the team moving.
Gurley, who is part of a franchise that has had more than its share of great RBs, with names like Eric Dickerson, Marshall Faulk, and a guy named Steven Jackson, who happens to be the teams all time leading rusher with 11438 YDs, adds his name their list.
Gurley is ready for an even bigger workload, he is a great player with a bright future ahead of him. With a career high in carries with 279 this year – it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if he approached numbers like that, for many years down the road. When you watch the Rams, they use Gurley in a great utilitarian style and he can wreck teams with his incredible athletic ability.
Antonio Brown / Pittsburgh Steelers / WR
Antonio Brown as obviously been more than “just a receiver” for Pittsburgh. He has led his team with 9 receiving TDs, 101 catches, and 1,533 receiving YDs. And those kind of numbers are HOF-like if I have even seen. Brown has had games of 213, and 182 YDs receiving, with 3 games of 15 or more targets, along with a 3 TD game. Which is a huge threat to a team that needs something besides Bell touching the ball 25 times. The Steelers rely greatly on his route running, great hands, and YAC each and every game.
Antonio reminds me of all time great, Marvin Harrison, with his speed, and versatility. As a WR who is going to demand double coverage from opposing teams – he is impossible not to like. He has great acceleration after getting the ball in his hands, and can demolish the second and third level of a defense. With 492 yards after catch – Antonio has shown his vision and running ability on the consistent. When he breaks into the open field, he has excellent speed to get away from the grabby hands of defensive backs and is a constant threat to take the ball to the house on long touchdown catches. With 27 plays of 20+ yards this season, it is hard to possibly argue against that.
Brown could be an all time great who ends up being one of the best WRs ever, when we are telling stories 20-30 years down the road.
Russell Wilson / Seattle Seahawks / QB
Russell Wilson has been overlooked by many.
And why?
And why?
When you are responsible for 81% of the teams offensive yards like Russell Wilson was – it is hard to not say you are pretty good. Yet, Wilson seems to never gets the respect that he deserves for the QB position. He consistently put up big time games, and still no one wants to take into consideration that the Hawks are an awful, 2-5 when Russell doesn’t complete 60% or better of his pass attempts. That speaks volumes for a players importance to a teams success – AKA; being pretty valuable.
Russell Wilson averaged 6.1 yards per carry in 2017, with 586 yards with 3 TDs for Seattle. He also lit up teams in the air, as he had passed for 3983 yards. With 12 games with 2+ TD pass games, Wilson has full control of the teams offense, and also saw 31+ pass attempts in 11 of 16 game over the year.
He has obviously put together many great seasons for Seattle. But this year he has really brought his legend to life, in 2016, he averaged 7.6 yards per throw, for 264 yards/game, with 21 passing TDs. Wilson had also run the ball for 259 yards with 1 TD via the ground. As a player who just finished his 6th season – he has averaged 231 yards per game, and thrown an average of 27 passing touchdowns/season sine he arrived, he has gotten to be a truly legendary player in the annals of history for the Seahawks.
Regardless with your a fans of the receiving game of Brown – the offensive ability of Wilson or the attacking game of Todd Gurley, one things we as fans can all surely agree on – is these guys are all worthy of being in the MVP conversation. Based on Gurley and his incredible running ability, as well as, the fact the Rams have been awful, when he gets less than 17 carries in a game, plays a huge part for me. All of their losses come when Gurley isn’t getting the rock. Gurley has arrived for the Rams and is the full package for their organization. With a fresh blend of speed and vision, along with great confidence when running the ball – it is hard to not go with the 23 year old RB. Over the last 30 years, only 8 players have won the MVP who weren’t playing the QB position. The last RB to win the MVP was Adrian Peterson in 2012.
This year, it is time again.
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