In the history of the league, there have been 57 MVPs. Of those, 50 have been quarterbacks. We know it’s hard for other positions to win awards, but this is extreme. The league is dominated by this one position. It’s the most valuable position and the one teams can’t overcome. Look how many times the New York Jets had the right roster but the wrong quarterback. A bad quarterback can tank a franchise, and an MVP one can salvage it.
While the quarterback is the most valuable position in sports, a wide receiver can be a team’s most impactful player. In the history of the league, there were wide receiver seasons that deserved more credit than they got. There are 22 wide receivers in the Hall of Fame, with Larry Fitzgerald making it 23 when he goes in this year. There are also some specialists who played some wide receiver.
With that many receivers in the Hall of Fame, it’s crazy that none of them made the jump to MVP win. So, we took at look at NFL history to see where the voters got it wrong.
10. Mark Clayton (1984 Miami Dolphins)
This one might be hard to convince because it was also the best season of one of the best quarterbacks of all time, but what’s a good quarterback without a great wide receiver? Mark Clayton helped Dan Marino take his game to a level never seen before or seen since. He was the first player to pass for more than 5,000 yards and led the league with 48 touchdowns. We get it, Marino deserved the MVP that season, but Clayton was shot for shot with his epic performance.
Clayton scored 18 touchdowns this season. It was one of the best scoring seasons we’ve ever seen from a receiver.
Somehow, Clayton didn’t even get All-Pro first-team for this performance. He was beaten by Art Monk and Roy Green for the honor. Overall, it seems like his season was just undervalued by everyone. It was likely because Marino was so good, but Clayton was as clutch as they come. However, it’s at the bottom of the list for a reason.
9. Charley Hennigan (1961 Houston Oilers)
Going way back in time for this one, people didn’t understand the impact of the passing game in the 1960s. However, the Houston Oilers found this opening in the game that caused one of the best receiver seasons in the history of the game. And we don’t talk about it because the wrong person won the MVP.
In 1961, Paul Hornung won the MVP because he was a running back and a kicker. Things were simpler in the NFL back then. Names like Jim Brown, Sonny Jurgenson, and Y.A. Tittle made the MVP voting, but Charley Hennigan did not. He did get votes for the since-defunct “Player of the Year” award, but he still finished third behind George Blanda and his teammate, running back Billy Cannon.
But take a look at these numbers: 82 catches, 1,746 yards, and 12 touchdowns. Remember, they were playing 14-game seasons back then. Also, he helped the Oilers put together a great season. After starting the year 1-3-1, the Oilers won their final nine games. During that run, Henningan had three separate 200-yard performances, including 272 yards against the Boston Patriots. It was the performance of a lifetime, and it happened in just his second season in the league. He finished his career, which lasted just seven seasons, with three first-team All-Pro appearances.
8. Marvin Harrison (2002 Indianapolis Colts)
This is another situation where a wide receiver was given less credit because he was playing for a legendary quarterback, but Marvin Harrison played a huge part in helping Peyton Manning develop into one of the best players in NFL history. And his 2002 season was his best ever. That season, Manning targeted Harrison 205 times, leading to 143 receptions for 1,722 yards and 11 touchdowns. He averaged more than 100 yards per game, and really pushed a flawed Colts team into contention.
Harrison finished second to Priest Holmes, who had a ridiculous season for the Kansas City Chiefs. But when we’re talking about the “most valuable” player, it’s hard to argue who was better than Harrison. This was an incredibly flawed Colts team that Manning and Harrison willed to 10 wins.
This happened a lot in this era. There were these outlier seasons happening again and again that put these players on the map. Harrison was relied upon on every drive to make a play, whether they had a chance to score or not. He was making moves and catching balls underneath because that’s what the offense allowed.
7. Larry Fitzgerald (2008 Arizona Cardinals)
There are few players outside of the quarterback position that have transformed a franchise more than Larry Fitzgerald transforming the Arizona Cardinals. When he was drafted with the third overall pick in the 2004 draft, it was a moment that took the franchise from laughing stock to eventual contender. There were other moments that got them there, like acquiring former Super Bowl champion Kurt Warner, but none of it happens without Fitzgerald.
Now, let’s fast forward to 2008. Fitzgerald finished the regular season with 96 receptions for 1,431 yards and a league-leading 12 touchdowns. He led the Cardinals to the playoffs the first time in his career. Not only that, but Arizona won the NFC West, giving them their first home playoff game since 1947.
We have to be honest with ourselves; the MVP is as much a narrative award as it is a statistical one. Peyton Manning won the award that year, but many consider Drew Brees and Philip Rivers as better QBs that season. Manning’s Colts had a great record, and he won MVP. However, Fitzgerald dragging his team to the playoffs, and eventually the Super Bowl (even though that doesn’t count to MVP voting) deserved a much better fate in MVP voting.
6. Sterling Sharpe (1992 Green Bay Packers)
Sterling Sharpe had an incredible career with the Green Bay Packers, but because it was cut short by injuries, he’s a little lost to history. Sharpe led the league in receptions three times in his seven seasons. He also led the league in touchdowns twice, including his final season, when he had 18 receptions, but it was the 1992 season when he deserved that MVP recognition, and it was there that he finished fourth in MVP voting.
Sharpe lost the MVP that season to Steve Young, who took 70% of the MVP vote. Steelers’ running back Barry Foster and Cowboys’ running back Emmitt Smith. Sharpe led the league that season in receiving, touchdowns, and receptions for a Packers team trying to build up a young Brett Favre. He had more than 500 yards from scrimmage more than any other skill position. The running back on the Packers, Vince Workman, had fewer than 1,000 total yards.
The difference between Sharpe and the rest of the Packers’ skill position players was immense. Without Sharpe, the start of Favre’s career would have been a lot different, and his entire trajectory might have changed.
5. Tyreek Hill (2023 Miami Dolphins)
The Miami Dolphins acquired Tyreek Hill to show they are looking to make the next step in the AFC East. It worked out pretty well for a few years. Hill exploded onto the scene in 2023 with 11 catches for 215 yards and two touchdowns in Week 1 against the Los Angeles Chargers. Throughout the season, he repeatedly delivered game-changing performances, including 157 yards against the Denver Broncos, 181 against the New York Giants, and 163 against the Carolina Panthers.
Lamar Jackson ended up winning the MVP, and Hill did suffer an injury that impacted his numbers at the end of the season, but without Hill’s impact, the Dolphins would not have made the playoffs. If that’s not MVP worthy, then nothing really is. He came to Miami (albeit a year earlier) and switched the perception of this franchise.
4. Terrell Owens (2004 Philadelphia Eagles)
Terrell Owens was a superstar looking for the right second chapter of his career. He started as the second banana for the San Francisco 49ers despite being one of the greats of all time. He moved on to the Philadelphia Eagles, and that is where he proved exactly what he could do when outside of the shadow of Jerry Rice.
It’s not like the Eagles traded for Owens as a bad team looking to contend. He was going to a team that was making the NFC Championship Game on a yearly basis, but they couldn’t get over the hump. Owens showed up and changed that in an instant. They were now ready to make that true run to championship contention.
The biggest argument against Owens was that Roy Williams ended his regular season with two more games left to play. He finished with 1,200 yards and 14 touchdowns in 14 games. Owens was out until the Super Bowl, where he had one of the most heroic efforts we’ve seen in the 21st century. This was MVP caliber for sure, as Owens took the Eagles to another level.
3. Cooper Kupp (2021 Los Angeles Rams)
There are few things greater than a sports Triple Crown. It comes from horse racing, where a horse that wins the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes goes down in history. The Triple Crown in baseball involves a hitter leading the league in batting average, home runs, and RBIs. Cooper Kupp’s Triple Crown might be the rarest.
Kupp led all of football in receptions, yards, and touchdowns in 2021. Not only did he lead the league, but he had a historic season. He had 145 yards, 1,947 yards (second most of all time), and 16 touchdowns. He actually had a slow start to the season, but he turned things around near the end of October. From there, he was consistently the best player on the field every week.
Kupp did win an MVP that season, the Super Bowl MVP. He was dominant during the Rams’ Super Bowl run, and he was even better in the Big Game. He also finished third in MVP voting and won Offensive Player of the Year. He only got one vote, which seems crazy with how successful his season was. Aaron Rodgers won the league MVP that season, and his numbers were pretty crazy (37 touchdowns and four interceptions), but Kupp’s season deserved just as much recognition.
2. Randy Moss (2007 New England Patriots)
We have never seen a wide receiver come to a team and have the impact that 2007 Randy Moss had on the New England Patriots. Still the only undefeated regular-season team since the NFL moved to 16-game seasons, Moss was insane that year. We can look at the numbers and say he was a part of the overall offense, but don’t get this twisted. Randy Moss was the 2007 Patriots’ offense. As good of an addition as Wes Welker was, and despite the huge role that Donte Stallworth and Jabar Gaffney played in making the whole unit a matchup nightmare, Moss was the offense.
He finished the year with an NFL record 23 touchdowns. He also caught 98 balls and finished with just under 1,500 yards. Moss had a penchant for running passed double teams, showing a level of speed we didn’t know was still possible for him. He looked like the prime version of himself after a few seasons where the Raiders tore him down.
Meanwhile, Tom Brady had his best season yet. The former Super Bowl MVP hadn’t been the best in the world until this season. He was really good, but he wasn’t “GOAT” status until Randy Moss came into his life. For that reason alone, he deserves more recognition than he got for this season.
1. Jerry Rice (1987 San Francisco 49ers)
Jerry Rice has a legitimate argument to be the greatest football player in the history of football. There has never been a player as dominant at any position on a yearly basis as Rice. He’s led the league in yards six times and touchdowns six times, as well. He was a matchup nightmare due to his skill and the hardest player to game plan against thanks to his intelligence on the field. His brain would compute the best route to take and the best change to make in route to get open every play.
In the shortened 1987 NFL season, nobody was as great as Rice. He scored 22 touchdowns. We must remind you that this was a shortened season. He scored 22 touchdowns in 12 games. He even added a rushing touchdown just for good measure. Rice was the best player on the best team that season, and it wasn’t particularly close.
Honestly, Rice could have won the MVP on multiple occasions. He got first-place MVP votes six times in his career, and he finished second in 1987. The eventual winner that season, John Elway, threw for fewer touchdowns than Rice caught and had as many total touchdowns as Rice had. There’s really no reason he won MVP over Rice.
More NFL news and analysis
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow
