The Associated Press has been voting on the NFL MVP award since 1957 and in the 68 years since then, a total of 26 teams have produced at least one MVP. Even the Carolina Panthers, who didn’t play their first season until 1995, have produced an MVP and that came in 2015 when Cam Newton won it.
It’s somewhat notable that the Panthers have an MVP under their belt, because they’re one of just two teams in the NFC South, along with the Atlanta Falcons, that have at least one player in franchise history who has won an MVP. The New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are two of the six teams that have been shut out of the MVP award, along with the New York Jets, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars and Arizona Cardinals.
Out those six teams, could any of them end their MVP drought this year? Let’s rank their chances.
Before we get to that though, let’s take a look at the current MVP odds (via DraftKings):
T-1. Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (+550)
T-1. Bills QB Josh Allen (+550)
3. Bengals QB Joe Burrow (+600)
4. Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes (+700)
5. Commanders QB Jayden Daniels (+750)
As you can see, the oddsmakers don’t have much faith in any of our six teams ending their drought. With that in mind, let’s see who has the best chance.
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6. Saints
Most likely MVP candidate: Alvin Kamara (+30000)
There’s a reason Kamara’s odds are astronomically high and that’s because there’s a strong chance the Saints aren’t going to be very good this year. The team is holding a three-way competition at quarterback — between Spencer Rattler, Jake Haener and rookie Tyler Shough — and no matter who wins the job, the offense is likely going to struggle in 2025. If the Saints do show any signs of life, it’s likely going to be because of Kamara. New Saints coach Kellen Moore was the offensive coordinator for the Eagles last season and his offense ranked second in the NFL in rushing. Moore will do everything he can to get the ground game going, which should mean plenty of touches for Kamara. If the running back can somehow carry the Saints to a big year, then he could be in the MVP conversation, but that seems like a long shot.
5. Jets
Most likely MVP candidate: Justin Fields (+20000)
The Jets went just 5-12 with Aaron Rodgers last season, so if Fields can turn the team around, he can likely get himself in the MVP conversation. The Jets have a new offensive coordinator in Tanner Engstrand, who spent the past two seasons as the passing game coordinator in Detroit. In 2024, Jared Goff threw for 4,629 yards and 37 touchdowns during a season where he finished fifth in the MVP voting. If Engstrand can turn Fields into a true dual-threat quarterback — maybe a Lamar Jackson lite — then the Jets QB could surprise some people this year. If the Jets win 10 or 11 games in 2025 and Fields plays a big role in that, it’s almost a lock that he’ll at least get an MVP vote or two.
4. Cardinals
Most likely MVP candidate: Kyler Murray (+2800)
Murray has gotten better each season under Drew Petzig and the 2025 season will be his third with the Cardinals offensive coordinator. Last year, Murray got off to a hot start with 12 touchdown passes compared to just three interceptions during Arizona’s first 10 games. There were times where Murray came up big with this legs during the season (he had 83 rushing yards in an upset Week 5 win over the 49ers), but there were also plenty of times where he used his right arm to help Arizona, like when he threw for 307 yards in a wild 28-27 win over the Dolphins in Week 8.
Murray has one of the best tight ends in the NFL in Trey McBride and he’ll also have another year to build chemistry with Marvin Harrison Jr., so Arizona could certainly have a potent offense.
One other reason that Murray could be an interesting MVP contender is because the Cardinals will be playing 13 games indoors, which is the second-most in NFL history. Last year, the Lions played an NFL-record 14 games indoors and Jared Goff used that to mount an MVP run that ended with him finishing fifth in the voting.
3. Jaguars
Most likely candidate: Travis Hunter (+20000) or Trevor Lawrence (+4500)
For most teams in the NFL, the quarterback is going to be the top MVP candidate, but we’re going to focus on Hunter here. In the Super Bowl era, no rookie has won the MVP award, but Hunter is a unique player who could certainly put himself in the conversation with an impressive season. Let’s say he goes over 1,000 yards receiving on offense and comes up with six interceptions on defense (a number that would have ranked third in the NFL last season). That kind of production would likely be enough to earn him some MVP votes. Normally, a receiver who barely tops 1,000 yards wouldn’t be in the MVP conversation, but if he also ends up being a top 10 corner in the league, that might be enough for voters to recognize his value.
Browns general manager Andrew Berry compared Hunter to Shohei Ohtani back in April, which is interesting, because the MLB star has been either the AL MVP or NL MVP in three of the past four years. If Hunter does end up playing on both sides of the ball FULL TIME, he won’t be have be the best at either position. If he’s a top 10 receiver AND a top 10 corner, that will certainly help his MVP case as long as the Jaguars are actually somewhat good.
2. Texans
Most likely MVP candidate: C.J. Stroud (+2500)
The Texans quarterback actually earned a few MVP votes in 2023 after an impressive season where he topped 4,000 yards passing while also being voted Offensive Rookie of the Year. In 2024, Stroud took a step back, but that had a lot to do with the fact that his offensive line struggled and his receivers couldn’t stay healthy (His top three receivers all missed at least five games).
For 2025, not only have the Texans totally overhauled the offensive line, but they’ve also brought several weapons in for Stroud. The Texans made a trade for Christian Kirk in March before adding two more receivers in the draft (Jayden Higgins, Jaylin Noel). Not to mention, Stroud’s favorite receiver, Nico Collins, should finally be fully healthy after missing five games in 2024.
Stroud is set up to have another breakout season after going through a sophomore slump last year.
1. Buccaneers
Most likely MVP candidate: Baker Mayfield (+2500)
Mayfield had a career year in 2024: Not only did he rank third in the NFL with 4,500 passing yards, but he also tied for the second in the league with 41 touchdown passes. Both of those numbers were a career high for Mayfield, who’s suddenly looking extremely comfortable in Tampa Bay.
Mayfield won’t have his offensive coordinator back in 2025 — the Bucs lost Liam Coen to Jacksonville — but he is going to have literally everyone else back. There were 14 players who finished with at least 1 yard receiving for Tampa Bay last season and ALL 14 will be back in 2025. That list includes Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Cade Otton along with running backs Rachaad White and Bucky Irving.
Not only will the Bucs be getting back every key offensive skill player, but they also added one when they selected former Ohio State receiver Emeka Egbuka with the 19th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The pressure is now going to fall on new Bucs offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard to make sure that there’s no fall off now that Coen is in Jacksonville.
Mayfield actually got an MVP vote last season during his career year and with the table now set for the QB to have another huge season, he certainly could be in the MVP conversation in 2025. CBS Sports senior NFL writer Pete Prisco actually talked to Mayfield this week and you can read all about their conversation here.
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