There are many reasons to tune into Thursday’s NFL Kickoff game between the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs, a star-studded event on and off the sector.
Football fans will get to see the past two NFL MVP winners who’ve combined to capture the league’s premier award in 4 of the past six seasons.
Lamar Jackson (2019, 2023) and Patrick Mahomes (2018, 2022) are also among the many favorites this yr, with the Chiefs’ quarterback because the unanimous top alternative and the Ravens’ quarterback among the many top 10.
Listed below are my three favorite bets on the MVP board.
2024 NFL MVP odds
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Patrick Mahomes | +500 |
| Josh Allen | +800 |
| CJ Stroud | 10/1 |
| Joe Burrow | 10/1 |
| Jalen Hurts | 14/1 |
| Jordan Love | 14/1 |
| Lamar Jackson | 14/1 |
| Brock Purdy | 18/1 |
| Dak Prescott | 18/1 |
| Tua Tagovailoa | 20/1 |
| Aaron Rodgers | 25/1 |
| Jared Goff | 25/1 |
Patrick Mahomes (+500, BetMGM)
Mahomes is coming off his third profession Super Bowl MVP, so it’s easy to forget how rough the regular season was for him last yr.
After years of leading the NFL in seemingly every advanced metric, Mahomes ranked eighth in EPA+CPOE, 14th in passer rating and twenty third in yards per attempt.
The most important issue last season was a scarcity of receivers who could separate downfield. Mahomes ranked thirty fourth out of 40 qualified passers in YPA on throws of 20-plus yards.
To deal with that, the defending champs drafted Xavier Worthy and traded for Marquise Brown, two of the fastest wide receivers in NFL history.
Second-year wideout Rashee Rice is also poised for a breakout season.
The Chiefs needs to be right back in contention for the highest seed within the AFC, and Mahomes is poised to deliver MVP numbers in a much-improved offense.
Jalen Hurts (14/1, FanDuel)
The Eagles capsized over the second half of last season, ending on a 1-6 streak that climaxed with a pathetic 32-9 loss to the Buccaneers within the playoffs.
Nevertheless, latest faces have arrived to supply a latest direction, including offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who needs to be an enormous upgrade over Brian Johnson.
Moore is ready to introduce more pre-snap motion, tempo and disguised formations, which shall be welcome after Hurts was stuck in considered one of the league’s most vanilla offenses. Moore may even help Hurts higher handle the blitz after Hurts ranked twenty ninth out of 43 qualified quarterbacks in passer rating against the blitz.
Betting on the NFL?
The Eagles ranked in the highest three in pass- and run-blocking last yr, per Pro Football Focus, and while they lost center Jason Kelce, I’ll never bet against Jeff Stoutland engineering an elite O-line.
With Saquon Barkley and Jahan Dotson joining A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert, this offense is loaded with skill-position talent.
Philadelphia ranks fifth in Super Bowl odds and is anticipated to return to contention this fall. Hurts was a few missed games away from winning the MVP award two years ago, and I think there’s a robust probability he’ll deliver on that promise this season.
Jared Goff (25/1, Fanatics)
The Lions made it to the NFC Championship last season, and so they may be even higher in 2024. They overhauled their secondary, the team’s weak link last yr.
Per PFF, Detroit also returns 4 of 5 starters from an offensive line that ranked top-10 in pass and run-blocking.
As for the schedule, the Lions have just three games projected to be played in outdoor stadiums, which is huge for Goff’s productivity. In 14 indoor games last yr, he ranked fifth within the NFL with a 106.4 passer rating; in five games outdoors, he ranked twenty first with an 82 rating.
Goff may very well be poised for a profession yr in Ben Johnson’s scheme with elite talent surrounding him. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta and David Montgomery make up one of the talented offensive nuclei within the league.
