We have reached the (approximate) midpoint of the NFL season, and that means we’re making our projections for who will win the NFL MVP, the most coveted of all the individual awards in football. There are quite a few viable candidates with Russell Wilson and Patrick Mahomes leading the pack with their spectacular first halves. But the race is still wide open, so let’s see where members of the sports section stand on this debate.
Cole Stefan
Campus Correspondent
This season has been all but normal, but nonetheless, there have been some standout candidates. Usually, these awards go out to quarterbacks such as Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady. However, there is one standout candidate in particular I like, and that is Derrick Henry. Henry piled up 264 rushing yards against the Houston Texans in an absolute thriller. On top of that, he leads the league in rushing yards with 775 of them to go and eight touchdowns rushing on the year; no wonder he holds the high school rushing yards record. The Alabama product has been a driving force on a contending Tennessee Titans team that is looking to gain momentum after two tough losses, and he is playing like the second half version of himself. Hopefully this means Henry does not digress in the second half like he did in the first half of multiple past seasons.
Evan Rodriguez
Campus Correspondent
For me, I have to go with Russell Wilson this year as my mid-season MVP so far in this 2020 NFL season. Seattle is currently 6-1 and on top of a very good conference this year, and this wouldn’t be possible without Wilson. The star studded QB has put up over 2,000 yards, 26 touchdowns and a phenomenal 82.6 QB rating. His most recent game against the 49ers showed the dominance that an MVP candidate should be expected to have as he completed 27 passes for 261 yards and four touchdowns. He’s only gotten better, and Seattle looks like a real contender to win a Super Bowl championship in a different looking season. Wilson will be counted on and he will not disappoint anyone with how he has operated this impressive Seahawks team. I believe Wilson will win an MVP this year and may just cap off this season with an MVP trophy and a Super Bowl ring.
Ben Berg
Staff Writer
Unfortunately for Aaron Donald and Justin Tucker, it’s the Most Valuable Player award, not the best player award. So, realistically it’s gotta be a quarterback, and there’s a ton of great candidates for that this year. Tom Brady comes to mind, but he’s playing on possibly the most loaded skill-position team of all time. Russell Wilson is also certainly worthy, but his three interception performance against the Cardinals cost his team a crucial divisional game. So, I’ll go with Patrick Mahomes. His 2,315 yards are behind only Matt Ryan and his 21 touchdowns are ahead of everyone but Wilson with 26. However, Wilson also has six interceptions while Mahomes has one. So, essentially, the difference is Wilson has five more TD’s and five more picks. I’ll take Mahomes then. In my mind, as long as Mahomes is rolling, then the 7-1 Chiefs are the team to beat.
