As the 2025 NFL season has crossed the midway point, the race for MVP looks familiar to past races. Quarterbacks are the main frontrunners for the award. Let’s examine who the most valuable players are in the NFL beyond just the quarterback position this season.
1. Jonathan Taylor
While the biggest story for the Indianapolis Colts this season has been the career revival of Daniel Jones, another story that has flown under the radar is the performance of star Running Back Jonathan Taylor. The two-time Pro Bowler currently leads the NFL in both rushing yards and touchdowns at 895 yards and 12 touchdowns, respectively. If the NFL MVP award wasn’t headlined by quarterbacks, Taylor would be the frontrunner to win it.
2. Jaxson Smith-Njigba
The breakout star of the 2025 NFL season has been Seahawks Wide Receiver Jaxson Smith-Njigba. The former Buckeye is currently on pace to break the single-season receiving yards record, as JSN currently sits at 948 yards through 8 games. Those yards combined with JSN’s low targets make his overall numbers all the more eye-popping as well as valuable.
3. Christian McCaffrey
After a 2024 season that saw McCaffrey play only 4 games due to a multitude of injuries, the Niners’ star running back has returned to his 2023 MVP-like form this season. The two-time All-Pro is perhaps having his best season yet as McCaffrey leads the league in yards from scrimmage, with 596 rushing yards to go along with 626 receiving yards.
For a Niners team decimated by injuries across the board, McCaffrey’s performance this season has helped to keep San Francisco afloat in a stacked NFC West.
4. Puka Nacua
Before Smith-Njigba emerged to threaten the receiving yards record, it was Rams Wide Receiver Puka Nacua who was on pace to break that record before a sprained ankle quickly derailed those hopes. Despite all of that, the former All-Pro is still having a spectacular season overall. He sits fourth in receiving yards with 711 yards in only 7 games played. If Nacua were able to avoid injury this season, he very well would be in JSN’s position on this list.
5. Myles Garrett
It hasn’t exactly been a season to remember for the Cleveland Browns as they sit at 2-6 on the season, but that hasn’t stopped their superstar Edge Rusher, Myles Garrett, from being the best defensive player in football. After signing a new deal with the Browns that made Garrett the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history, he has more than earned every bit of that contract this season.
The former Defensive Player of the Year currently ranks second in the NFL in sacks at 10 this season, a figure he reached after a monstrous five-sack performance against the Patriots a couple of weeks ago. Garrett currently stands as the favorite to win the Defensive Player of the Year award once again and should certainly receive some MVP votes as well.
Final Thoughts
The last time a non-quarterback won the coveted NFL MVP award was back in 2012, when legendary Vikings Running Back Adrian Peterson came just a few yards short of the single-season rushing record while also carrying Minnesota to the playoffs. While it is unlikely a non-quarterback will win the MVP award this season, I hope that these 5 players receive some MVP love to recognize the fantastic seasons each player is having this year.
