The Case For David Johnson's MVP Candidacy
Friday, December 23, 2016
Austin Darrow
The NFL MVP race is heating up and it’s going to come down to the final game of Week 17. While we know the usual candidates (Brady, Elliott, Prescott, Carr) there’s one player who has slipped through the cracks.
That player is David Johnson. Johnson is the running back for the Arizona Cardinals for the people who don’t know.
Johnson has the fourth most rushing yards in the league. And tied for second most TD’s. He is leading the NFL in yards from scrimmage.
If you listen to the media, they’ll only fill your brain up with Ezekiel Elliott. Elliott is a frontrunner with Tom Brady for the MVP.
There’s a reason for Elliott to be the RB being talked about, because “Americas Team” is finally having a good season. They even have two young rising stars to go along with it.
So the NFL loves that the Cowboys are having a great season and MVP candidates.
Johnson has 1,138 yards and 13 TD’s on 260 carries. Add his 73 receptions and 800 yards and add four more TD’s. Johnson is easily a top RB in the league.
The media is starting to control the MVP ballots now. MVP stands for most VALUABLE player, but it’s the most popular player nowadays. We saw it in the NBA, when Steph Curry took the NBA’s MVP, over other valuable players.
Put Elliott on the Giants, who have the 19th best run-block offense (Dallas’ first in run-block), and Elliott most likely doesn’t put those same stats up. He is still a good player, but the Cowboys O-Line is the MVP.
Same goes for Johnson, put him on the Cowboys and his stats skyrocket.
The Cardinals have five wins this season, and the NFL isn’t going to reward a player on a losing team. Stats don’t lie, and Johnson has done his part in helping his team trying to win.
Elliott has played well and has talent, but you can’t knock Johnson or McCoy or Bell for playing on less popular teams.
The MVP award isn’t based off of stats anymore, its popularity. Its jersey and ticket sales. Marketability and teams records. If it wasn’t those, than you’d hear Johnson’s name a lot more.
Johnson has done everything to help his team and has been the most valuable running back of the NFL. Elliott may have better stats, but let’s be real, the O-Line is the MVP of that team.