EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsWe're already one game into Week 7. And with more than a third of the 2026 NFL regular season officially behind us, it's time to start taking the temperature of the MVP race. Which players are making a memorable impact with their play?We polled 16 NFL front office executives, coaches and personnel people with a simple question: Who is your league MVP through the first six weeks? From there, we were able to form a top-five list. One coach joked that MVP is basically a quarterback-only award so there's no need to list players at other positions. And yes, there are two early QB favorites. But our ballot shows just how wide open this race is this season, with multiple running backs and even a wide receiver landing in our top five.There is still a lot of time to shift things, but here is where a sample of people around the league feel things stand right now.1. Brock Purdy, QB, San Francisco 49ers -- 6 votesStats: 69.6% completion rate, 1,460 passing yards, 14 passing TDs, 2 INTs; 156 rushing yards, 1 rushing TDThe case for Purdy: Purdy leads the NFL with an 83.1 QBR and is tied for the league lead with 14 touchdown passes. He also has just five sacks on the season, and his effectiveness as a runner has made him even more difficult to defend. But Purdy's superpower is his accuracy. He has a 5.1% completion percentage over expectation, per NFL Next Gen Stats, and he completes an NFL-high 88% of his passes to open receivers (3-plus yards of separation).The 49ers look like the NFL's best team at this stage with a 6-0 record, and it's largely because Purdy is having the best season of his career. He has helped San Francisco overcome an NFL-high 22 players being placed on injured reserve. As one AFC assistant general manager said, "Josh Allen is the easy answer. But my pick is Brock Purdy because of impact in that scheme despite all their injuries. He just finds a way to win. His numbers and the way he does it may not be as gaudy as Allen, but he's very valuable."He has had his MVP moments, too. Purdy's Week 2 performance vs. the Dolphins was the best QBR performance by any QB this season, with a near-perfect 99.7 rating. At one point, he completed 18 consecutive passes. He was the first QB in NFL history to throw for 250-plus yards with a 90% or higher completion percentage while also adding 30-plus rushing yards.Purdy's best pass of the season came a few weeks later -- a 55-yard deep connect with receiver Mike Evans vs. the Commanders on Monday to cap Week 6. Pressure was swarming fast, but he stuck in the pocket and delivered a dime to Evans.A common theme in talking to executives about Purdy is how he has redefined his narrative from being a system QB who is just a product of Kyle Shanahan's scheme to now seeing his unique feel for playing the position. "It looks easy and instinctual for him," one NFC coach said.Another AFC personnel director who selected Purdy said, "When you accept that all QBs need a system and support, it levels the playing field. MVP is who is playing the best, not just talent, so [Patrick] Mahomes, Allen and Matt Stafford can't win every year." Maybe this is Purdy's year.The case against Purdy: Purdy is only 14th among QBs in yards per game. He has been efficient but lacks the consistent explosive flash this season that we've seen from other contending quarterbacks, like Allen.There's also strength of schedule to consider. It doomed Drake Maye last season, as the Patriots played a relatively easy slate. And while the 49ers are in the tough NFC West, they have played just one team that currently has a winning record -- the 4-2 Broncos -- and aren't set to play one above .500 again until Week 11 (vs. the Vikings). Could the injuries catch up to the 49ers as the schedule tightens in the second half? The defense and receiver room have been decimated; San Francisco -- and Purdy -- seemingly can't afford many more blows.2. Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills -- 4 votesStats: 66.7% completion rate, 1,504 passing yards, 9 passing TDs, 4 INTs; 240 rushing yards, 8 rushing TDsThe case for Allen: No one makes football look like a backyard football game quite like Allen, and he might be the most dangerous dual-threat playmaker in football with an NFL-high 17 total touchdowns. Is there a "fun to watch" factor in MVP voting? Because Allen would surely get a boost there.But this award is really about value, and it's easy to picture the Bills as a non-playoff team without Allen at the helm. His defense has performed worse than any candidate on this list -- Buffalo has given up 29-plus points in five of its six games. But the Bills are still 5-1 largely because of Allen's play on the other side of the ball.The way Allen performed late in their 37-34 OT victory over the Rams is the most memorable MVP moment of any QB performance this season. Allen did it primarily with his legs, rushing for career-high 121 yards -- including 91 in the fourth quarter and overtime. Allen had a 93.3 QBR in that win. As one NFC defensive coach said, "It's gotta be Josh Allen right now. He won the game vs. the Rams by himself!! Damn he's good!!"Coach Joe Brady has empowered Allen to be himself as a loose playmaker more than ever, and so far, the reward has outweighed the risk. Allen's "no, no, nooo ... yes!" shovel touchdown pass to Keon Coleman in last week's win over the Raiders is a perfect example of him putting on his superhero cape to save the day in unorthodox and often wild ways.The case against Allen: Although Allen makes memorable plays, his completion percentage and passing yards per game rank toward the back end of the top 10 among QBs. Allen has referenced working through mechanical tweaks in his throwing motion. And if he ultimately loses the award to Purdy, the slight edge in accuracy could be the difference.And while Allen's aggressiveness is a fun asset, it occasionally burns him into making a bad turnover -- like he did in throwing an interception into double coverage in Week 4 loss to the Patriots. Allen will have to keep the turnovers down to win this award.3. Kenneth Walker III, RB, Kansas City Chiefs -- 3 votesStats: 106 rushes, 665 rushing yards, 6 rushing TDs; 14 catches, 95 receiving yards, 2 receiving TDsThe case for Walker: Walker leads the NFL by far with 52 broken tackles, per NFL Next Gen Stats, breaking a tackle on a league-high 43% of his touches. But it's not just power. Close your eyes, critics of Walker's speed: According to Next Gen Stats, he has reached 15-plus mph on 23 different carries this season (tied for the second most in the league) and has two of the four running plays leaguewide to hit 21-plus mph. It has helped him to a healthy 6.3 yards per carry on the season.Walker said coach Andy Reid had a summer conversation with him stating the belief that Walker could be a three-down player and prove that he was more than the bruiser back he had been stereotyped as due to limited receiving reps. Walker has become a reliable passing game playmaker, forcing defenses to remain honest in their defensive scheme.And Walker's destruction has really forced defenses to completely change how they play the 5-0 Chiefs. An AFC wide receiver coach who picked Walker said, "Biggest thing is he's taken off so much load from Mahomes coming off injury. He's the center of their offense right now. He's been the best free agent pickup in [the] whole league."The case against Walker: The last non-QB to win MVP was Adrian Peterson, who rushed for more than 2,000 yards and came just 8 yards from the single-season rushing record in 2012. Despite his excellent start, Walker shares a backfield with Patrick Mahomes, who will likely garner more MVP love and offensive workload share as the season goes on and is more removed from his ACL surgery.Chiefs coaches have also been open about decreasing Walker's workload and giving more touches to rookie Emmett Johnson later this season to help keep Walker healthy. He's sixth in carries with 106. It's a smart plan for Kansas City's long-term playoff aspirations, given Walker has spent much of his NFL career splitting a backfield, but it doesn't bode well for his MVP chances.4. Bijan Robinson, RB, Atlanta Falcons -- 2 votesStats: 111 rushes, 641 rushing yards, 4 rushing TDs; 20 catches, 144 receiving yards, 1 receiving TDThe case for Robinson: The eye test makes it look like Robinson is the best player in football at times. His running backs coach, Michael Pitre, said Robinson is Bruce Banner every day you see him but turns into the Hulk an hour before game time. We saw it over a stretch of back-to-back primetime games in Weeks 3-4. Robinson rushed for 194 yards and two touchdowns against the Packers ... and then ran for 145 yards and two more TDs against the Saints.Robinson is Mr. Make Something Out Of Nothing, too. He has gained 233 yards and scored two touchdowns on 47 carries in which he was first contacted behind the line of scrimmage. That's twice as many yards as the next-closest running back (Chuba Hubbard, 111). In total, Robinson is averaging 5.8 yards per carry.In all, Robinson is on track for 1,816 rushing yards and 2,224 all-purpose yards. An AFC personnel person who picked Robinson said, "If he runs for 1,800-plus yards or has 2,500 all-purpose yards and they make the playoffs, he should win, honestly."Although the Falcons have just two wins, Robinson is the reason they don't have zero. He's the clear face of the franchise and a guy that teams circle with a big red Sharpie three times when they game-plan against Atlanta.The case against Robinson: Team success will be a big factor, especially for a non-QB. The Falcons are 2-4 and still learning how to win. Though the NFC South isn't out of reach -- they're just 1.5 games behind the Panthers for first place -- it will be an uphill climb. The worst team record for an MVP was Barry Sanders' 9-7 Lions in 1997. Sanders rushed for more than 2,000 yards that season and still shared the award with Brett Favre.5. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seattle Seahawks -- 1 voteStats: 49 catches, 717 receiving yards, 7 receiving touchdownsThe case for Smith-Njigba: We've never seen a 2,000-yard receiver, and JSN is on an early pace to hit that mark. The gap between Smith-Njigba and Chris Olave, the No. 2 receiver in yardage, is larger than the gap from second to 10th. Smith-Njigba also leads the NFL in catches and TDs, so he's on track for the triple crown. A double historic feat could be enough!"He's putting [the] whole offense on his back," an AFC defensive coach said. "If he gets 2K yards, he's MVP."What has been especially impressive about JSN this season is how he has feasted on teams' propensity to try to disrupt his timing. Smith-Njigba has caught 18 passes for 278 yards against press coverage, both best in the NFL.The Seahawks' offense consists of JSN, JSN and more JSN. The receiver has eclipsed 100 yards in five of six games this season, and he's over 75 in all of them. No one has figured out how to stop him.The case against Smith-Njigba: A receiver is even less likely to win MVP than a running back. How rare? Well, a wide receiver has never won the AP MVP award. Never is a steep precedent to break.The Seahawks are also 3-3 and have declined offensively since last season, when JSN was also elite and ended up a relative noncontender for the MVP award. So, he'd have to navigate major positional and team-play hurdles to win it this time around.More names to watch over the rest of the seasonThere were two big surprises to me in this league poll of MVP candidates through six weeks: the absences of Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and Panthers quarterback Bryce Young.Lawrence is playing the best football of his career under coach Liam Coen, continuing a trend that seemed to click around midseason in 2025. He has also made a high number of what I love to call "arrogant dimes" -- quickly firing a pass into tight coverage with conviction off unique footwork platforms. It's the latest stage of his development, and he has the Jaguars on the path to another AFC South title.And what an incredible story it would be for Young to go from benched two years ago to a true MVP candidate now. Watch the Panthers, and you can see Young ooze the highest confidence of his career. He's playing with tempo in diverse formations and showing excellent pocket presence in the face of pressure. The impact of new playcaller Brad Idzik is a huge factor, and at this rate, he's on track to earn a big-money extension in 2027. The Panthers are also in the driver's seat for a second straight NFC South title.There are three more veterans I'm watching, but it's less about their current performance and more their potential: Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson.Mahomes is playing second fiddle to Walker in Kansas City due to his running back's excellence right now, but we're nearly a full year since Mahomes tore his ACL, so the second half of the season could bring a heavier load for the QB as competition jumps. Mahomes will also earn some consideration for how well he has played with a lackluster wide receivers room while coming off that major injury.Burrow ranks first in the NFL in completion percentage (71.4%), and it's notable how the Bengals have found ways to win despite a subpar running effort that has often made them one-dimensional. There haven't been a lot of explosive plays in Burrow's game, and an offseason plan to run more under-center hasn't worked well. But if the Bengals win the AFC North with Burrow playing every game, he'll almost certainly be in the hunt.And finally, Jackson leads all qualified starting QBs in passer rating (119.6) and yards per attempt (10.1), meaning he has been attacking down the field with efficiency. The biggest early knock on Jackson is that he has missed two games (and TBD on a third this week). But if he gets healthy, stays healthy and plays the rest of the season at this level, then 15 games of elite Jackson could be better than everyone else on this list. The two-time MVP could make it three.
