A USA TODAY Sports poll of 10 NFL experts ranked the top MVP candidates at the 2025 season’s midpoint.
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes rounded out the top three.
Nine different players, including eight quarterbacks and one running back, received at least one vote in the poll.
As the 2025 NFL regular season crosses its midpoint, the race to be the league’s MVP is a microcosm of the chase for the Lombardi Trophy – a wide-open field with an array of worthy candidates, if not an apparent clubhouse leader.
As such, USA TODAY Sports polled 10 of its NFL experts in a bid to handicap the MVP debate – everyone charged with ranking five submitted candidates. Like the Associated Press voting for the actual award, first-place votes were worth 10 points, second-place votes were worth five, third-place votes were worth three, fourth-place votes were worth two and fifth-place votes were worth one.
Nine players landed on at least one ballot. Here’s how they ranked from fewest points to most (first-place ballots listed in parentheses):
9. QB Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts – 2 points
“Daniel Jones” and “MVP” were probably never used simultaneously in the same sentence prior to 2025. “Indiana Jones” and “MVP” were intertwined sporadically thereafter … until Daniel Jones resurfaced last Sunday with one of his patented five-turnover games. All of that aside, Jones seems to have found a home in Indy and his best professional season, which includes a league-high 2,404 passing yards, has been at the forefront of the Colts’ surprise resurgence.
8. QB Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles – 10 points (1)
Kinda typical Hurts – the stats not necessarily eye-popping, even as the wins continue to pile up. ICYMI, Philly moved back into the NFC’s projected No. 1 playoff slot last weekend … during the bye week. And while there have been rampant questions about the offense this season, few have been targeted specifically at Hurts, who’s completing more than 70% of his passes, has a 15-to-1 touchdown pass-to-interception ratio and has added five more TDs with his legs. But, probably most important, he continues to be the steadying influence this talented team so often seems to need as it seeks a third Super Bowl berth over a four-season span.
7. QB Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 18 points (1)
He seemed to be the unofficial MVP front-runner a few weeks ago, but the Bucs have split their past two games – both quiet outings for Mayfield. Still, the peripatetic No. 1 pick of the 2018 draft has stabilized an offense that’s been besieged by injuries dating to last season and shown no let-up. And Mayfield has been clutch in crunch time, leading the league with four fourth-quarter comebacks and four game-winning drives. Hard to imagine where this ship would be without its captain.
6. QB Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks – 20 points
He’s certainly proven his Pro Bowl coming-out party with Minnesota in 2024 was no fluke. Darnold has seemingly been a perfect fit in the Pacific Northwest, his firm but laid back style dovetailing culturally with the ‘Hawks while his efficient play has taken this offense to a new level. No NFC quarterback has a higher passer rating (116.0), while Darnold has made his shots count – those 13.7 yards per completion, often to WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, leading the league. And, really, who had Seattle tied for the NFC’s best record (6-2) at the halfway mark?
5. QB Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills – 22 points (1)
This squad is also 6-2, the reigning MVP his usual sterling self while accounting for 20 total touchdowns. Allen’s 70.4% completion rate would be his personal best, while his passer rating (107.0) is just a tick off his career high from 2020 (107.2). However, if Allen wants to go back to back from a personal level, he’ll almost surely have to get the Bills back atop the AFC East.
4. RB Jonathan Taylor, Colts – 23 points (1)
Will he be the first non-quarterback to win MVP honors since Adrian Peterson in 2012? Fat chance … and Taylor might not even be the Offensive Player of the Year if Smith-Njigba becomes the NFL’s first 2,000-yard receiver. Nevertheless, Taylor is having a splendid year for the surprising Colts – arguably the linchpin of this team, not Jones – and leads the league with 895 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns from scrimmage, six of them covering at least 18 yards.
3. QB Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs – 24 points
Hate to speak for my colleagues, but this feels like something of a projection given K.C. wouldn’t even make the playoffs if the season ended today (it doesn’t). But Mahomes is on pace to pass for 4,400+ yards and 32 TDs, which would be his best numbers since 2022 – also the last year he was the MVP. And if an offense that has WR Rashee Rice back and could soon have LT Josh Simmons returning to the lineup finds another gear in the second half, perhaps the Chiefs will win their 10th consecutive AFC West crown and Mahomes’ third league MVP.
2. QB Drake Maye, New England Patriots – 31 points (1)
The second-year passer is the league’s breakout star of 2025, leading the NFL in passer rating (116.9) and completion rate (74.1%) – and that figure could threaten Drew Brees’ single-season standard (74.4% in 2018), even though Maye is much more inclined to strike deep downfield than Brees was and typically does so in New England’s less forgiving environs. Maye’s 2,285 yards and 17 TDs through the air have already surpassed his rookie numbers (in four fewer games), and with 270 yards rushing, he’s starting to legitimately justify the comparisons to Allen. Most importantly, Maye’s already gotten the best of Allen’s Bills once this season, and might not only lead the Patriots to their first AFC East title since Tom Brady was there but maybe even the conference’s No. 1 playoff seed.
1. QB Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams – 60 points (5)
Could a 17-year vet who’s only been a Pro Bowler twice and gotten AP MVP votes just once in a career that’s brought belated recognition take home the league’s most prestigious award for on-field performance? Seems like ages ago that Stafford’s status for this season was in question as he battled a balky back during training camp. But his game has been almost perfectly healthy since as he paces the league with 21 TD passes (with just 2 INTs) and 268.4 passing yards per game. Most importantly, the 37-year-old has the Rams tied for the NFC’s best record (6-2) and might just lead them back to the Super Bowl a year after nearly engineering a stunning upset of the eventual champion Eagles in Philly’s playoff snow.
