The NFL’s MVP Award has been around since 1957. In that time, fullbacks have won the award four times. Two defensive players have been given the honor, and even a kicker has taken home the hardware. Zero pass catchers have won the award though, and for the most part, none have gotten particularly close. Cooper Kupp put up one of the greatest receiving seasons of all-time in 2021 and only mustered one vote. Jerry Rice finished second in voting in 1995, but still fell 59 votes short of Brett Favre. He received 15 votes in 1993, and finished third in voting, behind his quarterback Steve Young as well as Emmitt Smith. The closest Rice got though was in 1987 when he recorded 22 touchdowns in just 12 games. Still, Rice finished six votes shy of John Elway. The disrespect to pass-catchers has been immeasurable, but in 2022, Vikings’ third-year receiver Justin Jefferson has a chance to end the discrimination once and for all, and I think he’s got a pretty decent shot. As of right now, according to OddsChecker spokesperson Kyle Newman, Jefferson is being given +15000 odds to win the MVP this year. That ties him with superstars Jared Goff and Sam Darnold, as well as some other notable non-QBs like Nick Chubb, Dalvin Cook, and Christian McCaffrey. However, those odds still seem extremely low given the circumstances Jefferson finds himself in. The Vikings did away with Mike Zimmer during the offseason, and replaced him with former Rams’ offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell, the same Kevin O’Connell who orchestrated Kupp’s massive 2021 breakout season. However, Jefferson is arguably a better fit for O’Connell’s offense than Kupp was. Both receivers do a lot of work from the slot. Jefferson lined up in the slot on nearly 20 percent of his snaps in 2021. That’s a ways off from Kupp’s usage last year (52.4 percent), but if O’Connell wants his offense to look anything like the Rams’ did in 2021, we can expect a significant uptick in Jefferson’s slot percentage next season. Second, Jefferson would only need to see a four percent increase in target share to match Kupp’s mark from last season. That’s not an unthinkable figure. Furthermore, where Kupp had to compete for targets with guys like Robert Woods and Odell Beckham Jr. last season, the main competitor for Jefferson in 2022 will be 32-year-old Adam Thielen. Thielen is coming off one of the least productive seasons of his career (in terms of yardage), and his touchdown rate (10 TDs on 67 receptions) is unsustainable. Those touchdown passes have to go somewhere, and even with the return of Irv Smith Jr., Jefferson is far and away the most reliable option for Cousins, just as Kupp was the most reliable option for Stafford. Now, you might be thinking: “Sure, but Stafford is a much better quarterback than Cousins.” Correct. Kupp also didn’t have to face Jaire Alexander twice last year. I’m not expecting Jefferson to take as massive a leap as Kupp did. Kupp recorded career-bests in every major receiving category. He increased his reception total by 54 percent (94 to 125). He bettered his career-best yardage total by 67.7 percent (1161 to 1947). He increased his touchdowns by 60 percent (10 to 16). I’m not expecting that monumental a leap in every category, but if I’m being generous and divide each of those percentages in half, that would still give Jefferson a line of 137 receptions, 2244 yards, and 13 touchdowns. I don’t care how stubborn a voter you are, breaking the all-time receiving yards record by nearly 250 yards is going to get you some MVP hype. The receptions and touchdowns could be better, but like I said, I was being generous with those percentages. If O’Connell decides to use Jefferson anything like how he used Kupp last season, those numbers could be much greater. Lastly, the MVP award voters often give an edge to playoff teams. If you’re that good, why can’t your team make it to the playoffs? I’m not saying the Vikings are a guaranteed playoff team, but their division is one of the weakest in football with both the Lions and Bears projected to be near the top of the draft next April. Plus, the Packers lost Davante Adams. We don’t know how that offense is going to look. All that amounts to the Vikings probably doing better than they did last year when they missed the playoffs by two games. The Cardinals will probably be worse. The Cowboys will probably be worse. The 49ers are a question mark until we see Trey Lance do well. There are several reasons to believe the Vikings will reach the postseason. Will they go 16-1 like Colin Cowherd predicted? No. But there’s no reason to think the Vikings can’t go 11-6 or 12-5 and secure the NFC’s second or third seed. Obviously, the MVP is a quarterback’s award to lose. Brady, Mahomes, Allen, Herbert, and Rodgers (even without Adams) are all the clear-cut favorites to win the award. While you might think that a monumental rise from Jefferson would only give voters more of a reason to vote for Cousins, keep in mind that Stafford didn’t get any votes last season. Kupp did though. At +15000 odds, Jefferson might be one of the sneakiest MVP picks this year. Those odds are insane, especially when you consider that Cousins is being listed at +4000. It would take a massive push, but if any receiver can finally break the curse, it’s going to be Jefferson. Relatedbest football sportsbookbet on nfl propsbetting on college football onlinebets on nbabets on mlbnhl betsufc prop betssoccer sportsbookbest copa america sportsbook
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The new year is officially upon us and it s time to start thinking positively from the vaccine to the Premier League and beyond. There are going to be some pretty significant bumps in the road over the course of the next few months but if fans are able to distract themselves with some great football, that can only be viewed as a bonus. Today, we re going to take a look at what should be an intriguing clash of styles between Newcastle United and Leicester City.
Newcastle
Newcastle United fans are probably going to have to come to terms with the fact that Steve Bruce will be their manager until at least the end of the season unless they go on a dreadful run between now and then. Their football isn t the …
Charlie Austin once again proved a thorn in the side of former club Burnley as he scored twice in Southampton s classy 3-1 Premier League victory.
The England striker had scored on both his previous two top-flight appearances against the Clarets and he extended that record to four in three.
Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton was in inspired form in the first half, including a stunning early save from Austin, but the wheels came off for the visitors after half-time.
Austin started the scoring with a scrappy opener from a corner, before Nathan Redmond s fine finish from another set-piece doubled the lead just after the hour.
Southampton benefitted from a somewhat harsh penalty decision for Austin to make it three from the spot, but a run of six straight clean sh…
Celtic completed an historic double treble with a 2-0 win over Motherwell in Saturday s Scottish Cup final.
First-half goals from Callum McGregor and Olivier Ntcham at Hampden Park secured victory for Brendan Rodgers all-conquering side.
The victory completed a second consecutive treble of Premiership, Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup triumphs for the Glasgow giants.
Motherwell finished the league season 34 points behind the champions and they rarely looked like causing an upset.
A sumptuous half-volley from McGregor 11 minutes in set Celtic on their way, before Ntcham drilled home a second from the edge of the penalty area to put Rodgers side in control.
Motherwell pushed hard as the second half wore on, with Gael Bigirimana rattling the cr…
Manchester City extended their unbeaten Premier League run after Phil Foden s first-half goal secured a comfortable 1-0 victory over Brighton and Hove Albion.
Foden found the back of the net a minute before half-time and that proved to be enough for Pep Guardiola s men to make it eight games without defeat – including four straight wins – in the top flight.
England international Foden took his tally for the season to eight goals in all competitions at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, making him City s highest-scoring player in 2020-21.
Bernardo Silva hit the crossbar and Gabriel Jesus made his return from COVID-19 as a substitute, but City were unable to add to their tally, with Raheem Sterling missing a stoppage-time penalty.
A lovely exchange betwee…
German coach Bernd Schuster will receive 4.5 million euros (5.8 million dollars) in compensation from Real Madrid after he was replaced Tuesday by former Sevilla and Tottenham boss Juande Ramos, Spanish media reported Wednesday.
The reigning Spanish champions parted company with the 49-year-old, who was under contract with the club through 2010, by mutual accord on Tuesday after a string of poor results.
Sports daily Marca said Schuster arrived quickly at an agreement on the amount of compensation and said goodbye to the squad which he had coached since 2007 by text message.
He said he was relieved after his departure was announced, it added.
Schuster led Real to their record 31st league title last season, his first in charge of the club.
Bu…
Queens Park Rangers have opened negotiations with Charlie Austin over a new contract, .
The twenty-six year old has been strongly linked with a move away from QPR since they dropped out of the Premier League back in May with West Ham United, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur all monitoring the situation.
Leicester City are the only side who have lodged a bid, but so far no sides have met their valuation of £15m.
If that amount is not offered, then the Hoops will push forward with their offer of a new deal.
Austin moved to Rangers from Burnley in the summer of 2013 and has since racked up seventy-four appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring thirty-eight goals.
Chris Ramsey’s side lost their Championship opener at Charlto…
Ricky van Wolfswinkel scored only his second Norwich City goal as they progressed to the third round of the League Cup with a 2-1 win at Rotherham United.
The Premier League side were given a stern test by their Championship opponents and owed much to the performance of goalkeeper Declan Rudd.
But Alex s Neil men were more clinical in front of goal and did enough to continue a decent start to the new season that has seen them take four points from their first three games back in the top flight.
Norwich took the lead at New York Stadium thanks a 22nd-minute strike from Jonny Howson.
Rotherham had the better of the chances as they searched for an equaliser, but Van Wolfswinkel who spent last season on loan at Saint-Etienne gave Norwich breathing room with …
Chemnitzer said there was no room for captain Daniel Frahn at the club after firing him for showing sympathy for a far-right extremist group.
The German third division outfit, who will play former European Cup winners Hamburg in the DFB-Pokal on Sunday, took their stance after injured striker Frahn was spotted sitting with members of the Kaotic Chemnitz group during a league fixture.
The game, away to Hallescher last Saturday, also saw 32-year-old Frahn with former members of the dissolved hooligan group NS Boys, Chemnitzer said.
Such behaviour was massively harmful to the club , Chemnitzer said in a statement, adding: Chemnitzer FC will continue to act consistently against any anti-constitutional ideas and their sympathisers.
The city of Chemnitz was …
Pep Guardiola is heartened by the progress of Manchester City s youngsters this season but knows there is no guarantee of a golden generation, such as the one he oversaw at Barcelona a decade ago or Manchester United s Class of 92 .
England Under-21 midfielder Phil Foden has ticked past 50 career appearances for City and scored his 10th goal for the club in last weekend s 4-1 FA Cup win over Port Vale, when Taylor Harwood-Bellis was also on target for the first time in senior football.
Harwood-Bellis fellow teenage centre-back Eric Garcia was accomplished as he started the recent home wins over Sheffield United and Everton as part of a back three, while Tommy Doyle – who counts City greats Glyn Pardoe and the late Mike Doyle as his grandfathers – made his full debut…
Pep Guardiola has joked Manchester United should name a stand after Omar Berrada if their incoming chief executive proves to have the magic touch.
Berrada quit his role as chief football operations officer at rivals Manchester City last weekend after being offered the senior position at Old Trafford.
The appointment is a major coup for United with Berrada having been a key off-field part of City’s recent triumphs, but Guardiola has warned that his fellow Spaniard is no instant guarantee of success.
The City manager said: “Obviously his knowledge goes to United, that’s the reality.
“When you buy a player from another club you buy the knowledge that this player has had in the past with other managers and team-mates. That is normal.
“We lea…