NFL MVP Odds: Russell Wilson emerges as top challenger to Patrick Mahomes

After four weeks of the NFL season, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes emerged as the unchallenged betting favorite to repeat as the league's MVP. In Week 5, Mahomes didn't perform quite as well, completing only 56 percent of his passes and only tossing one touchdown pass in a home loss to the Indianapolis Colts, but that didn't change much at the top of the heap in terms of betting odds. 

DraftKings SportsBook still installs Mahomes as a +125 favorite to win NFL MVP honors but the real change comes at the No. 2 spot, where Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson made a significant move. After a week in which Tom Brady was the top challenger to Mahomes at +800, Wilson went from +1600 to +700, using a stellar, four-touchdown performance against the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night as the impetus. 

For the season, Mahomes still displays a more impressive statistical resume, with 1,831 yards and 11 touchdowns with no interceptions. However, Wilson actually eclipsed Mahomes with 12 touchdown passes and, despite a more modest yardage total (1,409), he has taken care of the ball in avoiding even a single interception through five appearances. 

After Wilson, Brady and Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey arrive at +1200 and, though non-quarterbacks have a tough time winning MVP honors in the modern NFL, McCaffrey's productivity has been off the charts to this point. Finally, Houston Texas quarterback Deshaun Watson comes in at +1400 after a decimation of the Atlanta Falcons secondary, and the quarterback duo of Aaron Rodgers and Carson Wentz land at +1600 odds this week. 

MVP is often about narrative and the favorite (Mahomes) and top challenger (Wilson) both lead teams with 4-1 records. It will be interesting to see how things shift on a weekly basis but, as always, the on-field results are important and the Chiefs will face the Texans this week, while the Seahawks travel to Cleveland to take on the Browns in Week 6.