The first month of the NFL season is in the books. There have been impressive performances around the league, from reclamation projects at quarterbacks to top rookies hitting the ground running. The MVP race isn’t going to look the same now as it will in January, but here are the MVP leaders through the first month of the season.
2024 NFL MVP Race Rankings: Allen, Daniels lead the way?
1. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
Throughout the season’s first month, Josh Allen has been dominant while leading his team to a 3-1 record for September. He has nine total touchdowns on the season with seven passing and two rushing no interceptions, and he has the number one quarterback rating (QBR) in the league with 82.3 despite a bad performance against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football. He is also second in Expected Points Added (EPA) per play with +0.36. EPA, in short, is a commonly used advanced statistic that measures how a team performs compared to expectations on a play-to-play basis.
Not many people knew what to make of the Buffalo Bills coming into the season, which makes what the start Allen has gone off to all that more impressive. During the offseason, the Bills organization released plenty of productive veterans on the defense side with guys like Tre’Davious White and Jordan Poyer while also trading their top receiver Stefan Diggs this offseason. So far, Allen has allowed the Bills to continue where they left off as one of the best teams in the league in the last few years.
It’s early, but if Allen keeps up his pace while keeping the team at the top of the AFC, he could be looking at his first NFL MVP award.
2. Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders
The second overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft has been must-see TV through one month of the season. Jayden Daniels currently has the Washington Commanders sitting up top of the NFC East with a 3-1 record, but what’s even more impressive than the team record is the record pace Daniels and the Commander’s offense have gotten off to start the season.
The 2023 Heisman Trophy winner recently set the record for highest completion percentage in a four-game stretch in NFL history with 82.1 percent. The previous record was held by Tom Brady at 79.2. Daniels, who was touted as a high-level dual-threat quarterback coming into the draft, has seven touchdowns on the season and one interception with 218 rushing yards. He currently leads the entire league as a rookie in EPA with +0.40.
Washington recently ended a streak of 16 consecutive scoring drives where they have only punted once in their last three games. Daniels and the Commanders have scored on 67.6 percent of their drives so far this season, putting the team on par with other teams like the 2020 Green Bay Packers (64.1), 2015 New England Patriots (58.7), 2007 New England Patriots (57.9) and 2017 Los Angeles Rams (57.8) as the highest in history.
Daniels is running away with the Rookie of the Year honors so far, but he’s also squarely in the MVP mix. So far, Daniels has been the best quarterback compared to his rookie first round counterparts.
3. Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings have been the surprise team of the season so far. At 4-0, and one of two undefeated teams left in the league, they keep beating up on good teams and doing it offensively and defensively. Seventh-year quarterback Sam Darnold, who has seen a career resurgence, is a big reason for the Viking’s success.
Darnold leads the league in touchdowns with 11 and has the third-best QBR with 73.5. He is tied for first in Yards Per Attempt (YPA) at 8.8
Drafted third overall in 2018 to the New York Jets, Darnold’s career had yet to quite live up to expectations relative to where he was drafted. He was traded from the Jets to the Carolina Panthers, where he was benched. He took the backup quarterback job in San Francisco last season before signing with the Vikings in 2024.
Darnold is a talented player, as reflected by his draft status, and now it looks like he’s finally putting it together in Minnesota.
4. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
In 2024, it is safe to say Mahomes has gotten off to his own career-worst start of the season. He has six touchdowns and five interceptions, but the Kansas City Chiefs are undefeated at 4-0 and still atop the AFC, and Mahomes continues to make key plays when his team needs him to.
KC has wins over the Baltimore Ravens, Atlanta Falcons and Cincinnati Bengals to begin the season. The injury bug has severely hit the reigning Super Bowl champions. They have lost two of their top three receivers and have also lost their top running back. If Mahomes can continue to keep his team afloat, it will be his most impressive job yet in his young career.
It is plenty of season left but through the first month these players lead the way.
Honorable Mentions: Saquon Barkley (Philadelphia Eagles), Jared Goff (Detroit Lions), Baker Mayfield (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Geno Smith (Seattle Seahawks)
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