With Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season beginning this Wednesday, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler had executives and scouts predict all the major award winners.
When it comes to MVP, it’s pretty evident that has become a quarterback award. The last non-quarterback to win the award was Adrian Peterson in 2012. Will that drought come to an end soon? Apparently, the answer to that question is no.
Interestingly enough, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is the trendy pick to win MVP this season.
“He senses the urgency this year and is talking like it — I think he’s ready to back it up,” an AFC executive told ESPN. “If he stays healthy. Big if.”
There’s no question Burrow has the skillset to put up MVP numbers. During the 2024 season, the former LSU star threw for 4,918 yards and 43 touchdowns. Injuries have certainly plagued him, but a healthy version of him has proven to be dynamic.
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Eyes on a much bigger prize.
Burrow isn’t going to say no to an MVP season, but his main priority is to win a Super Bowl in Cincinnati. He believes the front office has put together the right roster to end the franchise’s three-year playoff drought.
“I just want to win this year. I just want to win. The rest will take care of itself. I think we’ll break a bunch of records eventually, but I think we’re going to have a really good team that has a chance to win every game that we step foot on the field for. I don’t know about you, but I could really feel it in my bones and my soul in OTAs this year — different from years past,” Burrow said, via FOX Sports. “We brought in a lot of the right guys, a lot of the right people with the right mindsets to go and chase this goal of winning a Super Bowl and winning as many games as we can and being the best possible team that we can. I felt it from our D-line. I felt it from our defense. Our offense has the same guys as years past. … These veteran guys that we brought in on defense to be able to help our younger guys [are going to make a difference].”
We’ll see if the Bengals can truly return to being AFC contenders.
