Six NFL franchises yet to have league MVP, but drought could realistically end for a few in 2020
Six active franchises have yet to produce an NFL MVP. A few have a solid chance of ending that drought in 2020.
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It's largely well-known by NFL fans that four active franchises have yet to play in a Super Bowl: Houston, Jacksonville, Cleveland and Detroit. Did you know that there are six teams never to have an NFL MVP winner via the Associated Press? The Texans and Jaguars are two, along with the Jets, Cardinals, Saints and Bucs. Could any of those clubs end their drought in 2020? Reasonably possible for all but the Jags and Jets.
With the NFL season kicking off eight days from today in Kansas City, Chiefs quarterback and 2018 MVP Patrick Mahomes is unsurprisingly the +350 betting favorite to win 2020 MVP on the William Hill sportsbook moneyline odds. The Chiefs had never had a winner until Mahomes. Neither had the Ravens until Lamar Jackson was a unanimous MVP last year, and he's a +600 second-favorite. No one has repeated for the award since Peyton Manning in 2009 with the Colts.
We can safely rule out the Jets – Joe Namath was the MVP of the AFL twice – and Jaguars ending their droughts this year. Sam Darnold has the shortest odds among Jets players at +10000 and Gardner Minshew is +15000 for the Jaguars. Just for a point of comparison, Bengals rookie QB Joe Burrow has shorter odds than both at +8000.
It's hard to believe the Saints haven't had a winner simply because it's unfathomable that Drew Brees has never won an MVP considering he has led the NFL in passing yards a record seven times. The 41-year-old Brees is +1800 for this season with running back Alvin Kamara – assuming he's not traded (he won't be) – at +7500. Most likely, this is Brees' final season as he already has signed on with NBC to be a broadcaster.
Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson (+1400) is very capable of winning an MVP award and may well do so eventually, but Houston GM/coach Bill O'Brien seemed to lessen Watson's chances in 2020 with the stunning winter trade of All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins to Arizona for past-his-prime running back David Johnson and draft picks.
Speaking of the Cardinals, Kyler Murray (+2000) will be the biggest beneficiary of that Hopkins trade and looks to become the third straight second-year quarterback to win MVP. Murray was the 2019 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Finally, the Bucs have never had a player come particularly close to the MVP conversation but now have three-time winner Tom Brady under center. At age 43, Brady might be surrounded by his best offensive talent since 2007 when he won his first MVP with the Patriots. He's +1600 this season.
A quarterback has won MVP every year but once since 2007. Then-Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was the 2012 winner. The non-QB with the shortest odds this year is Giants running back Saquon Barkley at +3000.
| William Hill MVP favorites |
| Patrick Mahomes +350 |
| Lamar Jackson +600 |
| Russell Wilson +800 |
| Deshaun Watson +1400 |
| Dak Prescott +1500 |
| Tom Brady +1600 |
| Drew Brees +1800 |
| Kyler Murray +2000 |
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