NFL MVP Watch: Midseason Leaders

Will Despart October 29, 2025 Fact checked by: Matt Moreno No Comments

As we approach the midway point of the NFL season, the MVP debate is heating up and becoming one of the more interesting and balanced races for the award in recent memory.You still have a mainstay as the favorite to win the trophy in Patrick Mahomes, but second-year stud Drake Maye’s performance in New England and Daniel Jones’ revival in Indianapolis have taken the discourse to places we couldn’t have even fathomed this time last year.

And in case you needed some additional drama, we have what could be a generational running back season in the mix from Jones’ Indianapolis teammate Jonathan Taylor. Not to mention, a must-watch campaign from the Rams Matthew Stafford, who is one of the best quarterbacks in league history without an MVP on his mantle.

Patrick Mahomes Kansas City Chiefs
David Eulitt/Getty Images

Patrick Mahomes

It was a trying start to the season for Mahomes. The superstar quarterback threw just three touchdowns through the first three games as his team limped to an 0-2 and eventually a 1-3 start. Since Week 2, however, Mahomes has led the Chiefs to four wins in their last five games and has thrown at least three touchdown passes in each of those contests. 

Mahomes has thrown 14 touchdown passes since Week 4, giving him a share of the league lead with Matthew Stafford at 17 touchdown passes overall. He ranks second in the league with 2,099 passing yards, and his 88.43 total EPA (expected points added) is also tops in all the NFL.

Mahomes also has four rushing touchdowns, on par with Jones and just one less than Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts, with more rushing yards than all three. If the Chiefs continue to ascend and Mahomes continues to play at this level, he’s the clear MVP frontrunner.

Drake Maye

Maye, the New England Patriots second-year phenom, already passes the eye test with flying colors. However, when you look further into what Maye is doing in Foxboro this season, it becomes even more apparent how special the young quarterback has been this season. 

Maye is delivering the deep ball at an unprecedented level, completing 13-of-17 attempts of over 20 yards with five touchdowns and a 157.5 passer rating on said throws so far this season. He best displayed that skill with a third-quarter touchdown pass to Kayshon Boutte on Sunday that traveled over 45 yards in the air, landed on a dime, and turned into a viral highlight on social media.

Advanced analytics show Maye is also far and away the best quarterback when facing man coverage this season. He also comfortably leads the NFL in completion percentage above expected, showcasing his ability to fit the ball in tight windows at all three levels of the passing game. Not to mention, he became the fifth QB in NFL history with 200 or more passing yards and a 100-plus passer rating in seven consecutive games.

Jonathan Taylor

The 7-1 Indianapolis Colts have been the biggest surprise of the season so far, but one thing that isn’t so shocking is the fact that Taylor has emerged as the undisputed best running back in the league this season and a surefire MVP candidate. 

Through eight games, Taylor already has 850 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, in addition to 25 receptions for 206 yards and two touchdowns. Taylor is on pace for a mind-blowing 17-game stat line of 2,244 yards and 29 total touchdowns, which would have him approaching the record-setting marks achieved by LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006 (31 total TDs) and Chris Johnson in 2009 (2,509 total yards). 

The obvious drawback to Taylor’s campaign is the fact that a running back hasn’t won the NFL MVP award since Adrian Peterson ran for 2,097 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2012. Another factor that may work against Taylor is the fact that Jones has also emerged as an MVP candidate in Indianapolis, and Taylor is running behind the league’s best offensive line in a handful of years. 

Daniel Jones

It’s hard to believe we live in a world where Jones is making an appearance on a midseason MVP ladder, but the transformation he’s led in Indianapolis this season has revived one of the league’s premier franchises as well as his own career. If Taylor deserves a spot on the list, Jones belongs right there next to him for his role in the turnaround. 

Jones’ 2,062 passing yards and 17 total touchdowns (13 passing, four rushing) are both ranked in the top five among all quarterbacks this season, and his 85.11 EPA ranks second in the league only behind Mahomes. He also has the best EPA in the NFL (57.04) when playing with the lead, completing 70 percent of his passes for 1,061 yards and a 10/0 TD-INT ratio when ahead.

Jones is currently tied with Maye at seven games with a 100-plus passer rating this season, though he didn’t do it in seven consecutive games like Maye has. What Jones has done this season that Maye hasn’t yet, however, is throw for 300 yards in a game (316 in Week 2 vs. DEN). Jones has also led the Colts to 270 points through eight games, more than Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck ever had to this point. 

Matthew Stafford

In a world where players like Mahomes, Allen, and now Maye have garnered the headlines and top quarterback superlatives, it feels like the Los Angeles Rams quarterback is being criminally overlooked. 

Stafford is not only tied with Mahomes for the most passing touchdowns through eight weeks, he’s on pace for 41 touchdowns and just five interceptions this season. The 17-year veteran is playing the best football we’ve seen from him since he led the Rams to a championship in 2021 after an offseason marked by uncertainty regarding his health and even his playing future.

The Rams are 5-2 this season but are going to have their work cut out for them in an NFC West that’s suddenly the toughest division in football, with both the Seahawks and 49ers also sitting with five wins. If Stafford can deliver upon those projections and keep the Rams looking like a contender, he could very well find himself getting some MVP votes at the end of the season.

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