There are plenty of 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 field.
Football fans will get to see the past two NFL MVP winners who have combined to capture the league’s premier award in four of the past six seasons.
Lamar Jackson (2019, 2023) and Patrick Mahomes (2018, 2022) are also among the favorites this year, with the Chiefs’ quarterback as the unanimous top choice and the Ravens’ quarterback among the top 10.
Here 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 career Super Bowl MVP, so it’s easy to forget how rough the regular season was for him last year.
After years of leading the NFL in seemingly every advanced metric, Mahomes ranked eighth in EPA+CPOE, 14th in passer rating and 23rd in yards per attempt.
The biggest issue last season was a lack of receivers who could separate downfield. Mahomes ranked 34th out of 40 qualified passers in YPA on throws of 20-plus yards.
To address 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 could also be poised for a breakout season.
The Chiefs should be right back in contention for the top seed in 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, finishing on a 1-6 streak that climaxed with a pathetic 32-9 loss to the Buccaneers in the playoffs.
However, new faces have arrived to offer a new direction, including offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who should be a massive upgrade over Brian Johnson.
Moore is set to introduce more pre-snap motion, tempo and disguised formations, which will be welcome after Hurts was stuck in one of the league’s most vanilla offenses. Moore will also help Hurts better handle the blitz after Hurts ranked 29th out of 43 qualified quarterbacks in passer rating against the blitz.
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The Eagles ranked in the top three in pass- and run-blocking last year, 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 expected to return to contention this fall. Hurts was a couple of missed games away from winning the MVP award two years ago, and I believe there’s a strong chance he will deliver on that promise this season.
Jared Goff (25/1, Fanatics)
The Lions made it to the NFC Championship last season, and they might be even better in 2024. They overhauled their secondary, the team’s weak link last year.
Per PFF, Detroit also returns four of five 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 massive for Goff’s productivity. In 14 indoor games last year, he ranked fifth in the NFL with a 106.4 passer rating; in five games outdoors, he ranked 21st with an 82 rating.
Goff could be poised for a career year 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 most talented offensive nuclei in the league.