NFL MVP 2018: Award Candidates, Odds and Predictions

Before he even steps on the field for Super Bowl LII on Sunday night, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady could have another trophy to bring home to his collection.

The five-time Super Bowl champion is expected to win his third National Football League Most Valuable Player during Saturday night's NFL Honors ceremony.

Brady was slapped with the MVP favorite tag after Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz went down with a season-ending ACL injury on December 10.

Although the 40-year-old is widely regarded as the favorite to win the MVP, there are a few other candidates worth mentioning that could surprise Brady and take home the trophy themselves.

Tom Brady (Odds: -300)

Brady is no stranger to crossing over the 4,000-yard plateau in the passing department, but what astonishes many around the game is the high level of productivity he's kept up at 40 years old.

The Patriots quarterback reached 4,500 passing yards for the fifth time in his career and second time in three seasons by leading the NFL with 4,577 yards.

Brady also finished with a quarterback rating over 100 for the third consecutive season and completed over 65 percent of his passes for the second straight year.

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In addition to topping the NFL passing chart, Brady had the most passing yards per game of any NFL quarterback and was in the top five for quarterback rating and pass-completion percentage.

The two-time NFL MVP also shined against playoff teams in the regular season, as he tossed for over 300 yards against the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers and came two yards short of the 300-yard barrier versus the Pittsburgh Steelers.

As you continue to look down Brady's stat column, it's hard to find a flaw to point out that would diminish his candidacy for MVP.

The only argument the voters could make in denying Brady his third MVP would be to give the honor to one of the game's newest superstars to usher in a new era.

Todd Gurley (+200)

Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley has one of the few statistical resumes that could compare to Brady.

Under first-year head coach Sean McVay, Gurley more than doubled his receiving yards, and he recorded the second 1,000-yard rushing season of his career after picking up 885 yards on the ground a year ago.

The 23-year-old solidified his case for MVP in Week 16 with one of the best individual performances of the season, as he picked up 158 receiving yards on 10 receptions and 118 rushing yards in a 27-23 win over the Tennessee Titans.

Kelvin Kuo/Associated Press

Gurley had six 100-yard rushing games in 2017, with his 152-yard output in the dominant 42-7 win over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 15 being the best of the lot.

Despite receiving a heavy workload of 15 carries or more in 14 regular-season games, Gurley's production never wavered as he averaged 4.68 yards per attempt, which was the eighth-best total in the NFL.

Without Gurley, the Rams wouldn't have turned their record around so fast in the first year of the McVay era. They would've improved a bit as the chemistry between McVay and quarterback Jared Goff grew, but they wouldn't have won the NFC West without Gurley.

Because of the turnaround in Los Angeles helped by Gurley, voters could lean in the direction of the running back with their first-place votes, but it might not be enough to push him past Brady.

Antonio Brown

Pittsburgh wide receiver Antonio Brown might not appear on many first-place ballots, but he's still worth a mention in the MVP conversation.

Brown led the NFL in receiving yards with 1,533, and he earned the top spot in yards per game as he came close to averaging 110 yards per contest.

Don Wright/Associated Press

The numbers of the Steelers wideout are even more impressive when you consider he missed two games and rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster experienced an uptick in production as the season went on.

The 29-year-old out of Central Michigan had an incredible closing stretch of the regular season, as he picked up 627 yards over a four-game stretch, including a 213-yard performance against the Baltimore Ravens on December 10.

Like we mentioned above, Brown won't receive many first-place votes, but he should end up in the top three once the voting results are released.

Prediction: 1. Brady, 2. Gurley, 3. Brown

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from Pro Football Reference.

Odds obtained from OddsShark.com.