NFL: 25 wide receivers that should have been league MVP

NFL wide receivers that should have been league MVP: 23. Brandon Marshall, 2012

Brandon Marshall is one of the more underrated receivers of his era. He was a possession receiver who could make the biggest play of the game at any moment. He did bounce around a lot in his career. During his prime, he went from Denver to Miami to Chicago and finally had a stint with the Jets. He was great at each location. His best season arguably came in his first with Chicago.

When the Bears traded for Marshall before the 2012 season, they were reuniting him with his former quarterback Jay Cutler. They still had all of the chemistry they had in Denver, and the two flourished. It was Cutler’s best season, and a lot of that had to do with Marshall.

Marshall caught 118 balls for north of 1,500 yards and 11 touchdowns. Cutler threw the ball Marshall’s way 192 times. That’s insane. Cutler just threw it up to Marshall constantly and expected him to make a play. More often than not, he made the play Cutler was hoping for.

The Bears won 10 games that season, but it somehow didn’t end in a playoff berth. The NFC North was the division on monsters, as the Vikings, Packers, and Bears all had 10 wins or more. So, while the Bears didn’t make the playoffs, getting double digit wins would help Marshall with the voters. He was an awesome receiver who couldn’t be touched.