{"id":290589,"date":"2026-07-03T08:41:22","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T12:41:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=290589"},"modified":"2026-07-03T08:41:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T12:41:22","slug":"mvp-award-patrick-mahones-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/07\/03\/mvp-award-patrick-mahones-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL Analyst and Former Quarterback Picks Patrick Mahomes for 2026 MVP Award"},"content":{"rendered":"

Now entering the 2026 NFL season without an MVP award in several years, Patrick Mahomes has something<\/a> he has not possessed in quite some time: An emerging group of naysayers. While the Kansas City Chiefs\u2019 quarterback is still chasing Super Bowl titles, NFL analysts have focused on the rise of younger quarterbacks’ talents and whether they have surpassed Mahomes. Former NFL quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick<\/a> disagrees with that narrative. In fact, he thinks Mahomes has said he feels Mahomes is the most likely candidate to win the NFL MVP award in the upcoming 2026 season,\u00a0as he discussed on The Rich Eisen Show<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fitzpatrick Picks Mahomes to Win the NFL MVP Award<\/h2>\n

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\u201cTo me, I\u2019m looking at Mahomes,\u201d Fitzpatrick said. \u201cI kind of think he\u2019s the favorite in my mind to win MVP this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fitzpatrick\u2019s prediction holds credibility because he is not simply going off of what is on Mahomes\u2019 resume. We know that he has been to the Super Bowl more than once, taken home an MVP trophy on two occasions, and dominated in the playoffs over the course of his young career. Instead, Fitzpatrick is using it as an opportunity to look at how he believes Mahomes can respond, coming off an offseason where he has faced some criticism about his position among the NFL\u2019s top quarterbacks. Betting against a player with Mahomes’ track record has rarely worked out well, and Fitzpatrick clearly believes another signature season is coming.<\/p>\n

Why Fitzpatrick Thinks Mahomes Will Win the NFL MVP Award<\/h3>\n

While Fitzpatrick believes Mahomes has the talent to capture another MVP award, he also pointed to several factors that could fuel an even stronger season in 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of the injury, and the amount he has had to put into getting healthy this offseason,\u201c Fitzpatrick explained. \u201dThe last few years, doubt is starting to creep in, people starting to talk about \u2018maybe he is not the top quarterback anymore? Yes, he has the rings, but look at these guys that have outplayed him the last few years. I think there\u2019s enough of a narrative there that\u2019s going to drive him even more,\u201d Fitzpatrick emphasized. \u201cI do think sometimes, having to hit reset, the focus that he has put on rehabbing his body and getting ready, I see him as my favorite for MVP this season.\u201d<\/p>\n

The most interesting part of Fitzpatrick’s argument has little to do with statistics. He believes the combination of recovering from injury and hearing criticism throughout the offseason could sharpen Mahomes’ edge. Great quarterbacks often find motivation wherever they can, and Mahomes has never shied away from using outside narratives as fuel. If the rehabilitation process has left him healthier, fresher, and more determined than he was a year ago, the rest of the NFL could be dealing with a quarterback playing with renewed purpose rather than simply trying to maintain his previous standard.<\/span><\/p>\n

Several Variables Will Determine if Mahomes Wins the NFL MVP Award<\/h3>\n

Whether Mahomes ultimately wins the award will depend on team success, health, and the level of competition across the NFL. Still, Fitzpatrick’s reasoning extends beyond reputation. He sees a quarterback who has spent months rebuilding both physically and mentally while listening to questions about whether his best football is behind him. If that combination produces the response Fitzpatrick expects, Mahomes could find himself back to winning yet another NFL MVP award by the end of the 2026 season.<\/span><\/p>\n

Also Read:<\/strong> Patrick Mahomes is not the only Kansas City Chief making the news heading into the weekend. Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is allegedly tying the knot with pop sensation Taylor Swift this week. What does this mean for Kelce’s career moving forward?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Main Image: Robert Deutsch, Robert Deutsch \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Patrick Mahomes’ chase for another MVP award is predicated on whether or not he is able to remain healthy in his return to the NFL.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5774,"featured_media":290635,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36,16,6431],"tags":[7466,2186,559],"class_list":["post-290589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-news","category-chiefs","category-nfl-teams","tag-kansas-city-chiefs-news","tag-patrick-mahomes-ii","tag-ryan-fitzpatrick"],"modified_by":"Mike Roberts","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5774"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=290589"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":290637,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290589\/revisions\/290637"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/290635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=290589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}