Legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady has chosen his favorite to win the MVP award this season: San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey.
If you believe the oddsmakers, McCaffrey is not even the most valuable player on his own team, as 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is currently considered the favorite to win the award. Other signal-caller mentioned include Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys and Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens.
Typically, running backs do not win MVPs, as the last one to do so was Adrian Peterson back in 2012.
However, Brady seems to think it’s time for a change.
“He is a dynamic player now, and I think all of what he’s done this year is a lot [of] what he’s done in the past,” Brady said of McCaffrey on his Let’s Go podcast (on which McCaffrey was a guest). “It’s a different team with some different opportunities and they’ve been really dynamic on offense.”
McCaffrey leads the NFL with 1,292 rushing yards this season to go along with 13 rushing scores and an average of 5.3 yards per carry. In addition, he has hauled in 57 receptions for 509 yards and seven touchdowns. He is in his first full season with San Francisco after coming over in a midseason trade with the Carolina Panthers last year.
“So he is definitely in my mind the MVP favorite and according to his quarterback too, Brock Purdy, who says some amazing things about him. … And I know you’ll say, because you’re a great team player, the Super Bowl is the only thing that really matters,” Tom Brady said.
McCaffrey, who played his collegiate football at Stanford, was originally selected by the Panthers with the eighth overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft.
He spent the first five-and-a-half years of his career in Carolina, with his best season coming in 2019 when he racked up 1,387 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground while posting 4.8 yards per attempt. He also caught 116 passes for 1,005 yards and four scores.
The 27-year-old has made a couple of Pro Bowls while earning a First-Team All-Pro selection.
Christian McCaffrey and the 49ers are 11-3 and will take on the Baltimore Ravens on Christmas Day.
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