Packers: Aaron Rodgers should considered an MVP frontrunner

The Packers quarterback is having a great year and should be a contender for the MVP award.

After eight games, the Green Bay Packers are sitting at 6-2 and currently have the best odds at claiming the number one seed in the NFC, according to FiveThirtyEight.

Aaron Rodgers is, not surprisingly, a big reason why. He is having a season where he should be considered a top-three contender for the MVP award.

In 2018, many thought Rodgers was succumbing to Father Time and was well past his prime. Turns out, all he needed was a change of offense. Since Mike McCarthy left and Matt LaFleur came in, Rodgers has been looking more and more like vintage Rodgers.

Not so much in making ridiculous plays while out of the pocket, but still making insanely difficult throws that we have seen in the past.

He had a nice completion on a fourth down on Thursday night against the 49ers to Davante Adams. It was a great play for both players. Rodgers put it exactly where he had to and Adams had a defender draped all over him and still made the catch. Other quarterbacks don’t make plays like that.

Let’s compare Rodgers’ 2020 stats with those of Russell Wilson and Patrick Mahomes.

On the season, Wilson has 2,541 yards passing (fourth in NFL) with 28 touchdowns (league-leader) and eight interceptions (fourth-most in the NFL). He also has a quarterback rating of 117.1 (second in NFL).

Mahomes has 2,687 yards passing (second) with 25 touchdowns (second) and just one interception and a 115.9 passer rating (third).

Rodgers has 2,253 passing yards (ninth) with 24 touchdowns (third) and just two interceptions. Rodgers leads the league in passer rating after Week 9 with a 117.5 rating.

The numbers from these three quarterbacks tell me that this is a three-man race for MVP.

Something to keep in mind while looking at these numbers is that Wilson and Rodgers have both had a bye and have played one less game than Mahomes, so Rodgers could get close to Mahomes statistically when after Mahomes and the Chiefs have their bye this week.

Wilson has been considered the front-runner for most of the season. The Seahawks have one of the best offenses in football and Wilson has been a machine throwing touchdowns. Then he played the Bills on Sunday. Wilson threw for 390 yards and two touchdowns, but also had two interceptions and a pair of fumbles. Having four turnovers in a game is a tough look.

An argument for Rodgers would be to look at his supporting cast. Outside of Davante Adams and Aaron Jones, there aren’t any ‘stars’ on this team. He doesn’t have the arsenal of weapons that both Mahomes and Wilson have. Rodgers is doing more with less. This should be something to consider when looking at the MVP award.

All of these quarterbacks have their teams at the top of their divisions and poised to make some noise in the postseason. It will be fun to see how the MVP award shakes out, but Rodgers should be in the conversation with Wilson and Mahomes right now.