NFL Power Rankings: Ranking top MVP candidates following Week 6 action
Week 6 of the 2024 NFL Season is about over, so let's get into our latest MVP ladder power rankings. Oh man, there are a ton of deserving players for the MVP award this far. Yes it's very early, and yes things can change, but in my opinion, some of the early MVP candidates are probably going to hang around as the season progresses.
Don't look now, but we're rapidly approaching the halfway point of the 2024 NFL Season. This season is a marathon like any other, so we'll see what changes between now and a couple of months down the road. Let's get into our latest MVP ladder power rankings.
NFL Power Rankings: Ranking top MVP candidates following Week 6 action
4. Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens' QB Lamar Jackson has 10 touchdowns and just two interceptions across his first six games and has also rushed for 403 yards and another two scores. He's averaging a career-high 254.8 yards per game and is completing 67% of his passes. By all metrics, Jackson is having yet another stellar season, period.
The Ravens have also won four games in a row, so this team is catching some fire at the moment. They were able to beat the Washington Commanders in Week 6 and feel like they could again earn the no. 1 in the AFC playoffs if this keeps up. I would love to see a team like the Houston Texans in their more matured state see the Ravens in the playoffs this year.
I have a feeling that Lamar Jackson is going to climb up our MVP ladder power rankings as the 2024 NFL Season progresses.
3. CJ Stroud, QB, Houston Texans
The mark of a good team, and I have said this many times about the Houston Texans this year, is their ability to win the close games. And another mark of a good team is being able to pick apart the teams that a clearly inferior. The Texans embarrassed the New England Patriots in Week 6, as they should have.
CJ Stroud has been my pick for months to win the NFL MVP award, and he has helped lead the Texans to five wins across their first six games. The Texans and Kansas City Chiefs are the only two teams in the AFC with at least five wins.
Stroud is most definitely going to win an MVP award in his NFL career. Could it be in 2024?
2. Baker Mayfield, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
How about the Bake Show? Baker Mayfield is a legitimate MVP candidate through six weeks in the 2024 NFL Season and is no. 2 in our MVP ladder power rankings this time around. He leads the NFL with 15 touchdown passes. Fifteen TD passes through six games puts him on pace to throw for 43 on the season.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are now 4-2 on the season and truly feel like a legitimate contender. My only concern is their head coach Todd Bowles. I am not sure the ceiling is high enough with Bolles, and while Mayfield is playing out of his mind, is this really a player who can lead a team to the Super Bowl? Perhaps 2024 is the year...
1. Sam Darnold, QB, Minnesota Vikings
Even with the Minnesota Vikings being on their bye week, I have a hard time ranking anyone above Sam Darnold. It still may sound silly to you, but to me, he's got the strongest argument of any player in the NFL at the moment, so he'll stay at no. 1 in our MVP ladder power rankings until further notice.
Darnold is having a career year and is proving just how important coaching is. There is a valid question as to whether Darnold can keep this up, but he's done it for five games thus far and is currently quarterbacking the top team in the NFC and perhaps the entire NFL.
It's a feel-good story for Darnold, who could play his way into a long-term deal from the Vikings or some other team next offseason.