We're hours away from finding out who the NFL MVP is when the NFL Honors show reaches its finale. But ahead of the big announcement, ESPN's Mina Kimes - one of the award's voters - has decided to explain who she voted for and why.
Appearing on First Take this morning, Kimes revealed that she cast her vote for New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. She said that it came down to Maye and Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford but Maye edged out Stafford on two fronts: Regular season dominance and regular season value.
Kimes ultimately felt that Maye was able to do more with less throughout the season as he led the Patriots to their best regular season record since 2016.
Kimes vs. The Fans
As you would expect, there was no shortage of disagreement over her vote for Maye. Some people vehemently disliked her "doing more with less" argument and feel it shouldn't factor in while others feel that she should have factored in postseason performance too.
"God i hate the "doing more with less" argument. You had me until then. We shouldn't punish players for having good weapons. Manning, Rodgers, Brady, Mahomes, etc all had good weapons," one user wrote on X.
"The media should no longer be trusted for these awards. Talking about weapons as a detriment instead of how the QB gets the most valuable version of that player. No better examples than Stanford and Puka and Lamar and Derrick," wrote another.
"God MVP voting is cooked. No problem with Maye getting the vote, he had a great season and deserves it if he wins. But stop with the does more with less when picking an MVP. QBs need talent around them, stop using it against them if they have a great receiver," a third wrote.
© Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images.
Drake Maye has as good a chance as anyone of winning the award, regardless of the argument Mina Kimes personally made. His numbers were superb as he not only led the Patriots to 14 wins but led the league in completion percentage and passer rating.
Will Maye win the award, or will it go to one of the other finalists?