Could C.J. Stroud become the first rookie to win the NFL MVP since 1957?
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Houston, Texas (PSF) - Over 100 seasons of the NFL have been played up to this date, and we have all seen the evolution of the game and the difference in the talent level between guys that are playing today compared to guys played in the 1950s. Even with this sort of new era in football, there has only been one rookie to win the MVP in all these years, and that was Cleveland Browns legendary running back Jim Brown in 1957. Now, after Houston Texans sensational rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud has put the league on notice and quietly has his team in the playoff picture, the question is now being asked whether C.J. Stroud has a real shot at winning this years MVP award.
I do think some context needs to be added about the NFL MVP award and the criteria based around it. First things first, if you follow the NFL then you are probably aware that the MVP is truly a quarterback award at this day and age. The last non-QB to win it was Adrian Peterson in 2012, when he ran for 2,000 yards, which is a legendary milestone club for running backs. Since then we have seen another running back run for over 2,000 yards and he wasn’t even in the discussion for MVP, this was Derrick Henry in 2020. Even in 2021 the Super Bowl winning Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp got the triple crown out of all receivers, which is leading the league in catches, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns.
There has been some discussion about possibly A.J. Brown and Tyreek Hill winning the award at the receiver position as they are on record setting paces through the first nine games of the season. I will always say, if Cooper Kupp didn’t win MVP in 2021 then no receiver will, no matter what they do. If you look at Stroud’s statistics compared to the usual MVP finalists, he is having a much better season then all of them. In his first nine games, Stroud has thrown for 2,626 yards, a 15:2 touchdown to interception ratio, a 61.6 completion percentage, and a passer rating of 101.0. These are ridiculous numbers at the quarterback position, rookie or not. The usual finalists like Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, Joe Burrow and Josh Allen do not even come close to touching Stroud’s numbers. Let’s not forget that Stroud has Houston at a 5-4 record and brought them out of purgatory from the last three seasons where they went 4-12, 4-13, and 3-13-1. The fact that Houston is even in playoff position at this point in the season would have been a wild thing to think at the beginning of this season.
So, why shouldn’t Stroud be leading the MVP race? The next two quarterbacks who have similar stats are Tua Tagovailoa and Dak Prescott, who are two of the most scrutinized quarterbacks by the media and general public. Do we really think the media would allow either of them to win MVP? I don’t think so. It’s time for a new era in the NFL and C.J. Stroud has a real shot to be the first rookie to win the MVP since 1957.