Some great teams have one clear candidate for MVP. The greatest team has three. Maybe four.
Monday shows Tom Brady Let’s go! Podcast on SiriusXM49ers running back Christian McCaffrey listed his top two MVP candidates.
“If I had a vote, it would be Brooke [Purdy] As the best player and Trent [Williams] “He’ll be second in line,” McCaffrey said.
Brady made it clear earlier in the conversation that he cared a lot about the team’s accomplishments when he was playing.
““I felt like the team awards — which ultimately was winning championships — was what it was all about,” Brady said. “You can have a great individual year, and you can be a really good player on a bad team, which is not very fun. I think it was always about celebrating success with the other players, and the best moments weren’t accepting the trophy, the MVP award. It was accepting A Super Bowl ring with all the people who played a part of it.
The vast majority of players would rather win a Super Bowl than win an individual award. However, the NFL continues to hand out individual awards. Brady revealed for the first time during the latest episode of the podcast that this year he received one of the votes — even though he has a pending deal to buy a piece of the Raiders.
Brady seems to agree with the idea that Williams deserves the MVP award.
“I watch big Trent block everybody,” Brady said. “I’m not saying Trent is going to take home the MVP award, but if there’s an award given to an offensive lineman, Trent is the one who is going to get it in my opinion because of what he does up front. It’s unbelievable.”
McCaffrey pressured Brady to vote for Purdy.
“Vote for Brock, man,” McCaffrey said. “That guy deserves it, man. I know, obviously you respect that. He’s been unbelievable for this team and I hate when I hear people say anything negative, ‘Oh, he’s just a quarterback.’ Everybody’s quarterback is the system. That’s part of Being a quarterback in my eyes. I mean, I don’t know a lot about that position. I try to stay in my lane and just try to get open and block and do all the other things. But I mean, when you’re playing in a system that’s all you can ask for. And then sometimes you make plays outside of “X and O and that’s all he does all year. So he gets my vote.”
The challenge for voters this year comes from ranking the various 49ers candidates (Purdy, McCaffrey, Williams, and receiver Deebo Samuel), and balancing them against the likes of Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, Bills quarterback Josh Allen, and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Dolphins. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, and perhaps even Browns defensive end Myles Garrett and Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield.
It will become clearer once the playoff trees are set in both conferences. Voters list five all-time finalists, ranking them from first to fifth. Will the 49ers split the vote enough to open the door for someone like Lamar Jackson? It’s all about how the next three weeks go.
Frankly, Lamar can outdo all the 49ers candidates by taking on a huge game in San Francisco on Christmas Eve and taking on the best team in the league.
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