6. Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks
After spending a year with the 49ers, Sam Darnold went to the Minnesota Vikings, won a starting job, and led Minnesota to a 14-win season. But it was just an audition for other teams as the Vikings already had their minds made up that they were going to pivot to JJ McCarthy when they had the chance.
That turned out to be a massive mistake, because Darnold became the franchise QB of the Seahawks and led them to a Super Bowl win in his first year with the team. The way Darnold has rebounded since his time with the Jets and Panthers -- which feels like a lifetime ago -- is extremely impressive.
He's now made back-to-back Pro Bowls with 60 touchdown passes in his last 34 regular season games, and he's proving that the clock isn't going to strike midnight on this Cinderella story anytime soon.
5. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
One of the weirdest phenomena you will see in professional football right now is the way Jordan Love plays in the second half of the season compared to how the Packers play in the second half of the season.
Love's numbers in November and December are outstanding. He's got a career TD/INT ratio of 41-10 in the months of November and December combined. Packers fans even have a running joke about how locked in this guy is during "Toyotathon" every year. His completion rate is hovering around 65 percent. His QB rating in the month of December alone is 101.6.
Yet over the course of Love's career, the Packers are a combined 15-13 in November and December. They haven't been able to finish strong. Something's got to give there, because Love is obviously a special player. He could even be in that MVP conversation.
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