There are a plethora of legitimate MVP candidates. We power ranked them as the regular season continues. The regular season began on Thursday with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys, and it continues on Friday with the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers.
The rest of the regular season for Week 1 occurs on Sunday and Monday. Before we get to the bulk of the games, we've power ranked the most likely MVP candidates.
There are some obvious names at the top, but who else could emerge during the 2025 season?
Power ranking the most likely MVP candidates for the 2025 NFL Season
6. CJ Stroud, QB, Houston Texans
This one might be a bit of a reach, but I am quite high on CJ Stroud for the 2025 NFL Season, as the Houston Texans did rebuild their WR room and did at least make an attempt to improve their OL. Sure, the Joe Mixon injury hurts, but Stroud himself is one of the best pocket passers in the NFL and could put everything together in a crucial year three.
5. Jayden Daniels, QB, Washington Commanders
The Washington Commanders have someone special on their hands with Jayden Daniels. He's arguably an elite QB already and is the closest thing this league has to another Lamar Jackson. Daniels and the Commanders came within just one game of the Super Bowl last year and could make a run in 2025 if the stars align.
Some have predicted that the team is in for a regression, but with the Eagles set to endure a Super Bowl hangover, and the rest of the NFC East not really shaping up to be all that good, the Commanders may have a legitimate shot to winning the division, and that could be a huge part in Jayden Daniels winning the MVP.
4. Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs
I guess it would be silly if we did not put Patrick Mahomes on this list somewhere. A two-time MVP and a three-time Super Bowl champion, Mahomes is well on his way to the Hall of Fame and has appeared in three Super Bowls in a row. Since the 2018 NFL Season, the first year he was a starter in the NFL, the Chiefs have missed the Super Bowl just two times, in 2018 and in 2021.
They've made it to the big game in 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024. If the Chiefs figured out something with their WR room this offseason, their passing attack will return to being an elite one, and that could bode well for Mahomes.
3. Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals
Joe Burrow was playing his way to an MVP season, but the Cincinnati Bengals defense had other ideas. The Bengals just cannot get out of their own way, as they lost eight of their first 12 games and had to win the final five of the season to only miss the playoffs. It was another wasted year of the Burrow era, but with an improved defense and the team adding even more talent on offense, and MVP season could be on the horizon for Burrow.
You have to wonder how much longer Joe Burrow is going to put up with a lot of this franchise dysfunction before he considers something major...
Joe Burrow is third in our MVP power rankings.
2. Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills
Josh Allen won the MVP in the 2024 NFL Season, narrowly beating out Lamar Jackson. At this point, Allen and the Buffalo Bills have done everything they possibly can besides making a Super Bowl run and actually winning the big game. It seems like each year, people still predict Buffalo to win it all, but they continue to fall short in the postseason.
One of the best dual-threat QBs of all-time, Allen is second in our power rankings as the regular season continues.
1. Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens
There isn't anyone who has a better chance to win the MVP in the 2025 NFL Season than Lamar Jackson. He's the best player in the NFL, period, and in my eyes, should have won the MVP in 2024. Jackson has won two of the awards already and could enter the Hall of Fame if he retired tomorrow.
Lamar Jackson is a one of one, generational player who is already the best dual-threat QB of all-time. However, the playoff success, or lack thereof, is obvious, so that's been a sore spot for this franchise.