Getty Image
- 20 NFL players were polled at the Pro Bowl and asked a series of questions.
- Among those questions and anonymous answers was who they would pick for NFL MVP.
- Read more news about the NFL here.
In the discussion for the top picks to take home NFL MVP honors last season there were two names that were mentioned more than any other candidates: Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady.
Understandable choices since Rodgers passed for 4,115 yards with 37 touchdowns to just seven picks and Brady, at age 44, put up a career high 5,316 passing yards with 43 touchdowns and only six interceptions.
All that being said, when The Athletic polled 20 Pro Bowl players and asked them who the NFL MVP would be if they had a vote, their overall vote went to a completely different player: Jonathan Taylor.
Neither Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady were selected by Pro Bowlers as the NFL MVP
And it wasn’t even close.
Taylor, who rushed for 1,811 yards and 18 touchdowns, actually walked away with the vote in rather convincing fashion.
Out of the 20 votes for NFL MVP, Taylor was named on eight of them. Rodgers ended up with five votes, Brady got three, Joe Burrow got two, while Cooper Kupp and Deebo Samuel each received one vote.
On the defensive side of the ball, it was another runaway, only this time the Pro Bowler’s agreed that the Defensive Player of the Year was T.J. Watt. Hard to argue with 22-1/2 sacks.
Among the other questions posed to the Pro Bowlers in the anonymous survey were who they think is the most underrated NFL player on offense (Hunter Renfrow), the most underrated NFL player on defense (every player picked a different person), their favorite NFL city to visit (a tie between Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Seattle), their least NFL city to visit (Buffalo and Green Bay in a tie), the coach they would most like to play for (Mike Tomlin of the Steelers), their favorite current athlete outside of football (LeBron James).
Of note: someone actually voted for Jeff Fisher of the USFL’s Michigan Panthers as the coach they would most like to play for. Do you think they were just trolling?
Check out the full list of responses to each question over at The Athletic.