Adrian Peterson in 2012 was the last non-QB to be named NFL MVP, winning both the AP and PFWA Awards that season, and since the current divisional format with 32 teams began in 2002, AP is one of only four non-quarterbacks to win any part of the MVP – all of whom have been running backs (Peterson, Jamal Lewis, Shaun Alexander, and Ladainian Tomlinson).
So, on the heels of Justin Jefferson getting a massive extension from the Vikings on Monday, Grant & Danny debated: who is the most valuable non-QB in the NFL right now? In GP’s mind, it almost has to be a wideout.
“Three more receivers are due to get paid, and right now, Jefferson is the highest-paid non-QB in the league, and five of the Top 8 highest paid non-QBs in the sport are wide receivers, and it could be six or seven of the Top 10 once those guys get paid,” Grant said. “According to the way teams are spending money, wide receiver has become the second most important position in the league. They're saying quarterback we got to handle, and then elite level wide receiver; a WR1 is more important to these teams right now than a CB1 or an edge rusher, which had supplanted it for some time.”
“Indeed, and this is the league is telling you this; it's not just the amount of money going to these top end guys that are astoundingly productive in the era of passing offenses, but it’s also with draft picks,” Danny replied. “Not only are guys getting this kind of huge money up at the top, but they're being drafted disproportionately at the top of drafts as well.
This year was viewed as a really good receiver class, and it doesn't always go this way, but everybody's desperate, and this is the new paradigm.”
Danny then joked about how many thought the Commanders were foolish to let Kam Curl go without a franchise tag, but no one is paying for safeties – and until someone comes along and pulls a Tom Brady and wins with a non-descript set of offensive weapons, it may be QB1, WR1, hope the rest of the team provides value for a long time.
So that said, who would they pick as their NQB NFL MVP?
“Take a guy other than a QB off a team, who hurts the most? Typically, I think you’d just ask who is the best defensive player and go with that guy and keep it moving, but Justin Jefferson got paid like the most valuable non-quarterback in the NFL, and I actually think he's a great answer – but to me, Tyreek Hill is my first answer,” GP said. “I remember watching a game where he got hurt and the Dolphins offense struggled, but when he was on the field, they started moving again – and when he went back to the sideline, they bogged down again.
It’s them, and I’m not a big fan of saying running back is a super valuable position, but Christian McCaffrey and the way he's used in San Francisco – basically, he’s RB1 and pass catcher No. 1 – is it okay to put him on a podium?”
“That’s not outrageous at all,” Danny said. “I would say Hill, and they’ve won a couple times since he left Kansas City, but I would say the Pat Mahomes factor helps an awful lot there, and their offense has changed dramatically. But I think your point stands my argument for Hill, and I was turned on to this by DeSean Jackson here – I didn’t want anything to do with him until I saw the impact, because I truly didn’t get it: it’s the threat. It’s the threat of him tearing by you and making you a highlight, and the threat of him blazing past you opens up everything for everybody else. It’s got to include everybody, but that threat is worth so much.”
GP looked at an NFL.com list last year looking at that same situation, they had Micah Parsons at the top, which went back to his original point – but you can listen to their whole discussion above!
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