The NFL MVP race will naturally feature a quarterback-heavy group at the top, but we believe there are other QBs and players at other positions who have a shot to win the top individual league award.
With the first NFL training camps opening, what better time to get way (way) ahead of things and break down the MVP race for the season that doesn’t even start for another month and a half!
TeamFB7 already ranked the 10 most likely MVP candidates here.
But it’s at least possible — not likely but possible — that the ultimate winner comes from outside that list.
Or, more likely, one or more of these next 10 players might at least enter the MVP conversation along the way.
Either way, here are 10 more players who can’t be counted out from the chase for the NFL’s top honor while keeping in mind the MVP has gone to a quarterback the last 13 seasons and 18 of the last 19 years while the last non-QB or RB to win the award was Lawrence Taylor way back in 1986.
10 Dark Horse MVP Candidates
Jacksonville Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence
In his first season playing for head coach Liam Coen, the 2021 No. 1 overall draft pick unlocked the best version of himself while passing for 4,007 yards, 29 TDs and 12 INTs and rushing for 359 yards and 9 TDs.
He led the Jaguars to eight straight wins to close the regular season, and over the final six games he averaged 267 passing yards while totaling 15 TDs and just 1 INT (plus 4 rushing TDs). Did Coen truly transform the talented but frustrating QB, or was it just an isolated stretch of unsustainable excellence from Trevor Lawrence?
Lawrence wasn’t quite as sharp in the team’s playoff loss to Buffalo, passing for 207 yards, 3 TDs and 2 INTs, and Jacksonville is a prime regression candidate from 13 wins after losing a number of key free agents and having an underwhelming offseason.
But then again, Coen might just be the real deal and find a way for both the Jags and his QB to build on their 2025 momentum.
(DraftKings gives Lawrence +2200 MVP odds)
Houston Texans QB C.J. Stroud
C.J. Stroud has spent the offseason hearing about how badly he played in the playoffs and how much he cost the Texans, fumbling five times (losing two of them) and throwing an INT in a defense-led win over the Steelers and then tossing four picks in a blowout loss to the Patriots.
He IS the X-factor for a Houston team that arguably has the best defense in the NFL and upgraded at key offensive positions as well.
The 2023 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year has flashed high-end upside before, throwing for 4,108 yards, 23 TDs and 5 INTs that first season before leveling off the last two years.
If he can elevate his play behind what will be the best offensive line he’s had in the NFL, Houston could be among the NFL’s wins leaders and a true Super Bowl contender this year.
And Stroud would have to be considered in the MVP race.
(DraftKings gives Stroud +4500 MVP odds)
Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts
Everything went off the rails for the Eagles offense in 2025 under maligned — and since-fired — first-time coordinator Kevin Patullo and with internal friction surrounding star receiver A.J. Brown (since traded to New England).
If new OC Sean Mannion, the Packers QBs coach last year, can get the train back on the tracks, Jalen Hurts is a prime bounce-back candidate.
He finished second in MVP voting back in 2022, and despite a disappointing season overall in 2025 he nonetheless threw for 25 TDs with just 6 interceptions (with 3,224 passing yards). What he didn’t do is run as much as in past years — his 105 rushing attempts (for 421 yards and 8 TDs) were 45 less than the previous season and his lowest total since his rookie year.
For the Eagles to rediscover the offensive identity they had in winning the Super Bowl two years ago, Hurts needs to again be a true dual-threat — the guy who had at least 600 rushing yards and double-digit rushing TDs the previous four seasons.
Brown is gone, but DeVonta Smith is a fine WR1 and the Eagles signed well-traveled veteran Hollywood Brown, traded for Dontayvion Wicks (from the Packers) and drafted USC Biletnikoff Award winner Makai Lemon in the first round.
Hurts has often responded well to being doubted or questioned throughout his career — he’s got a prime opportunity to do so again.
(DraftKings give Hurts +2800 MVP odds)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield
Baker Mayfield might well have been one of the leading MVP candidates through the first part of last season when the Buccaneers were off to a 5-1 start with notable wins over the Texans, Seahawks and 49ers. Through those first six games, he averaged 256.5 passing yards a game while totaling 12 TDs and 1 INT.
But then …
The Bucs lost four of their next five games and eventually it became clear Mayfield was playing hurt and performed as one of the worst QBs in the NFL the second half of the season.
Over the final eight games, in which Tampa Bay went 2-6, Mayfield averaged 187.6 passing yards and threw for 10 TDs with 8 INTs.
The recently released third season of Netflix’s “Quarterback” series finally provided some clarity as to why Mayfield’s performance fell off some drastically. The QB revealed on the show that he played through a sprained MCL and PCL in his knee from Week 2 on, later a biceps contusion that impacted his passing velocity and a left shoulder injury in Week 12.
If Mayfield is healthy, maybe he shows his early 2025 form again this year.
But the reason he didn’t make the list of our 10 favorite MVP candidates is because of the state of the Bucs’ roster. Star wide receiver Mike Evans left as a free agent for the San Francisco 49ers while it remains to be seen if Chris Godwin will ever return to his past form after a couple injury-plagued seasons.
Tampa Bay has the look of a .500 team — again — and it’s going to be hard for Mayfield to truly get in the MVP race unless he and the Bucs can surpass expectations.
(DraftKings gives Mayfield +4500 MVP odds)
Atlanta Falcons RB Bijan Robinson
The Falcons might be the most underrated team entering 2026 after making a major upgrade at head coach from Raheem Morris to Kevin Stefanski, a two-time NFL Coach of the Year with the Browns.
Stefanski takes over an Atlanta offense loaded at the skill positions but with major questions at quarterback, with Dolphins castoff Tua Tagovailoa competing with fellow former first-round pick Michael Penix Jr. for the starting job. Even with just serviceable QB play, Atlanta could be a playoff team, and if that happens it will surely have a ton to do with Robinson.
The fourth-year back is coming off back-to-back seasons with at least 1,450 rushing yards, but he took it to another level last year with 1,478 rushing yards and 79 catches for 820 yards (with 11 total TDs). Those 2,298 combined rushing/receiving yards were 172 more than anyone else in the league.
Now give one of the most talented playmakers in the NFL an offensive-minded head coach and see what’s possible.
(DraftKings gives Robinson +10,000 MVP odds)
Indianapolis Colts RB Jonathan Taylor
Taylor looked like he was mounting an MVP case early last season when the Colts jumped out to a surprising 7-1 start and he was piling up yards and touchdowns at an incredible rate.
Once QB Daniel Jones tore his Achilles tendon, though, Indianapolis’ season unraveled and the offense leveled off. Taylor nonetheless rushed for 1,585 yards and 18 TDs and added a career-high 55 receptions for 378 yards and 2 scores.
If Jones can stay healthy in 2026 and take some pressure off Taylor, the 27-year-old running back can’t be counted out from having a career-best season.
(DraftKings gives Taylor +20,000 MVP odds)
Detroit Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs
Entering his fourth NFL season, the 24-year-old Gibbs should be in line for his biggest workload yet with the Lions trading backfield mate David Montgomery to the Texans (and replacing him with former Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco). Gibbs had a career-high 1,412 rushing yards and 16 TDs in 2024 and a career-high 77 receptions for 616 yards and 5 TDs last season. If he sets new highs in both rushing and receiving for a Lions team looking to reassert itself as an NFC contender, he could push for MVP consideration. Gibbs is one of the most talented players at any position in the NFL, so a bonkers statistical season is always a possibility if everything aligns. (+12,000 MVP odds)
Houston Texans EDGE Will Anderson Jr.
The only defensive player on the list, could Anderson join Hall of Famers Lawrence Taylor (1986) and Alan Page (1971) as the only NFL MVPs on that side of the ball?
If anyone can this year, he’s the best bet as the leader of the best defense in football.
The Texans gave up a league-best 277.2 yards per game and the second fewest points (17.4 per game) last season and return every key contributor to that unit while giving Anderson a contract extension that make him the highest-paid non-QB in football at $50 million a year.
Anderson finished second in NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting in his third NFL season last year while tallying 54 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 12 sacks and 93 total pressures.
The path to him garnering MVP consideration is for the Texans defense to take the unit to a historic level — like the 1986 Bears or 2000 Ravens — and Anderson to have a career year in the process.
(DraftKings gives Anderson +30,000 MVP odds)
Green Bay Packers QB Jordan Love
Love is by far the player we’re slighting the most in this endeavor as DraftKings gives him the 10th-best MVP odds at +1800.
We’re not buying it, but he also can’t be left off even the “Dark Horse Candidates” list too. So here it is.
Love passed for 3,381 yards, 23 TDs and 6 INTs in 15 games last season. He’d need to vastly outperform those numbers while having a worse cast of playmakers around him this year, with wide receivers Romeo Doubs (Patriots) and Dontayvion Wicks (Eagles) gone, leaving injury-prone Christian Watson, Matthew Golden (a disappointment overall as a rookie last year) and complementary WR3 Jayden Reed as his top targets.
Tight end Tucker Kraft returns from a torn ACL, but running back Josh Jacobs is the subject of an open investigation into charges of domestic violence and could still face an NFL suspension.
San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy
Purdy is tied for the 11th-best MVP odds at +2000 on DraftKings, but we don’t like his chances for the opposite reason.
Purdy played like one of the best QBs in the league for a stretch late last season and put up good numbers overall — 2,167 passing yards, 20 TDs, 10 INTs and 3 rushing TDs in nine games.
But if the 49ers are going to be one of the NFL’s top teams again in 2026 — which is very likely — it will almost assuredly involve another incredible season from versatile running back Christian McCaffrey, who led the team with 1,202 rushing yards and 924 receiving yards while scoring 17 TDs.
McCaffrey finished fourth in MVP voting last season, in part because Purdy missed half the season and the star RB kept the 49ers successful in his absence. So, the two would likely split the vote from each other.
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