5 NFL MVP sleepers primed for monster years in the 2021 season

2. Davante Adams, WR, Green Bay Packers

The No. 1 target for last season’s MVP, Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams is a massive reason that his quarterback was able to win the award. Just like Donald, Adams will have a tough time winning the award because of his position. A wide receiver has never won MVP in the award’s 63-year history. If a wide receiver puts up numbers that would deem them an MVP candidate, that wide receiver’s quarterback ends up winning the award.

Could Adams break that trend? It may be hard, but do not count him out. Last season, Adams was tied second for the most receptions with 115, tied for fifth in yards with 1,374 and led the NFL with 18 touchdowns. While those numbers are not MVP-caliber, Adams has the talent and could register a historic year in what may be his last with Rodgers.

For Adams to win MVP, he would have to have a historic season that is amongst the likes of Calvin Johnson or Jerry Rice. What Adams has working in his favor is the extra game that was added to the schedule this offseason. If Adams could eclipse the 2,000-yard mark while scoring 15+ touchdowns, he could maybe steal the award from his cohort, Rodgers.

What makes this possible is that the Packers are so reliant on Adams. We saw it last season as the Packers’ other wide receivers struggled to get open or have bad drops. Rodgers goes to Adams when a play needs to be made and I would expect that to continue.

Adams has a very difficult path to a potential MVP season. What he has over some of the other top receivers is that the receivers surrounding him are significantly weaker. Tyreek Hill, Stefon Diggs and DeAndre Hopkins all have very good receivers along with them for their quarterbacks to spread the ball around to while the Packers do not have near the caliber of those teams outside of Adams.