playCameron WolfeOct 25, 2026, 06:00 AM ETCloseCameron Wolfe is a reporter for ESPN and NFL Network based in Miami. Wolfe, a native of Jackson, Mississippi, previously covered the Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans for ESPN and the Denver Broncos for The Denver Post.Multiple AuthorsOpen Extended ReactionsWe’re already one game into Week 7. And with more than a third of the 2026 NFL regular season officially behind us, it’s time to start taking the temperature of the MVP race. Which players are making a memorable impact with their play?We polled 16 NFL front office executives, coaches and personnel people with a simple question: Who is your league MVP through the first six weeks?
From there, we were able to form a top-five list. One coach joked that MVP is basically a quarterback-only award so there’s no need to list players at other positions. And yes, there are two early QB favorites. But our ballot shows just how wide open this race is this season, with multiple running backs and even a wide receiver landing in our top five.There is still a lot of time to shift things, but here is where a sample of people around the league feel things stand right now.1.
Brock Purdy, QB, San Francisco 49ers — 6 votesStats: 69.6% completion rate, 1,460 passing yards, 14 passing TDs, 2 INTs; 156 rushing yards, 1 rushing TDThe case for Purdy: Purdy leads the NFL with an 83.1 QBR and is tied for the league lead with 14 touchdown passes. He also has just five sacks on the season, and his effectiveness as a runner has made him even more difficult to defend. But Purdy’s superpower is his accuracy. He has a 5.1% completion percentage over expectation, per NFL Next Gen Stats, and he completes an NFL-high 88% of his passes to open receivers (3-plus yards of separation).The 49ers look like the NFL’s best team at this stage with a 6-0 record, and it’s largely because Purdy is having the best season of his career.
He has helped San Francisco overcome an NFL-high 22 players being placed on injured reserve. As one AFC assistant general manager said, “Josh Allen is the easy answer. But my pick is Brock Purdy because of impact in that scheme despite all their injuries. He just finds a way to win.
His numbers and the way he does it may not be as gaudy as Allen, but he’s very valuable.”He has had his MVP moments, too. Purdy’s Week 2 performance vs. the Dolphins was the best QBR performance by any QB this season, with a near-perfect 99.7 rating. At one point, he completed 18 consecutive passes. He was the first QB in NFL history to throw for 250-plus yards with a 90% or higher completion percentage while also adding 30-plus rushing yards.Purdy’s best pass of the season came a few weeks later — a 55-yard deep connect with receiver Mike Evans vs. the Commanders on Monday to cap Week 6.
Pressure was swarming fast, but he stuck in the pocket and delivered a dime to Evans.A common theme in talking to executives about Purdy is how he has redefined his narrative from being a system QB who is just a product of Kyle Shanahan’s scheme to now seeing his unique feel for playing the position. “It looks easy and instinctual for him,” one NFC coach said.Another AFC personnel director who selected Purdy said, “When you accept that all QBs need a system and support, it levels the playing field. MVP is who is playing the best, not just talent, so [Patrick] Mahomes, Allen and Matt Stafford can’t win every year.” Maybe this is Purdy’s year.The case against Purdy: Purdy is only 14th among QBs in yards per game. He has been efficient but lacks the consistent explosive flash this season that we’ve seen from other contending quarterbacks, like Allen.There’s also strength of schedule to consider.
It doomed Drake Maye last season, as the Patriots played a relatively easy slate. And while the 49ers are in the tough NFC West, they have played just one team that currently has a winning record — the 4-2 Broncos — and aren’t set to play one above .500 again until Week 11 (vs. the Vikings). Could the injuries catch up to the 49ers as the schedule tightens in the second half? The defense and receiver room have been decimated; San Francisco — and Purdy — seemingly can’t afford many more blows.2.
Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills — 4 votesStats: 66.7% completion rate, 1,504 passing yards, 9 passing TDs, 4 INTs; 240 rushing yards, 8 rushing TDsThe case for Allen: No one makes football look like a backyard football game quite like Allen, and he might be the most dangerous dual-threat playmaker in football with an NFL-high 17 total touchdowns. Is there a “fun to watch” factor in MVP voting? Because Allen would surely get a boost there.But this award is really about value, and it’s easy to picture the Bills as a non-playoff team without Allen at the helm. His defense has performed worse than any candidate on this list — Buffalo has given up 29-plus points in five of its six games.
But the Bills are still 5-1 largely because of Allen’s play on the other side of the ball.The way Allen performed late in their 37-34 OT victory over the Rams is the most memorable MVP moment of any QB performance this season. Allen did it primarily with his legs, rushing for career-high 121 yards — including 91 in the fourth quarter and overtime. Allen had a 93.3 QBR in that win. As one NFC defensive coach said, “It’s gotta be Josh Allen right now.
He won the game vs. the Rams by himself!! Damn he’s good!!”Coach Joe Brady has empowered Allen to be himself as a loose playmaker more than ever, and so far, the reward has outweighed the risk. Allen’s “no, no, nooo … yes!” shovel touchdown pass to Keon Coleman in last week’s win over the Raiders is a perfect example of him putting on his superhero cape to save the day in unorthodox and often wild ways.The case against Allen: Although Allen makes memorable plays, his completion percentage and passing yards per game rank toward the back end of the top 10 among QBs. Allen has referenced working through mechanical tweaks in his throwing motion.
And if he ultimately loses the award to Purdy, the slight edge in accuracy could be the difference.And while Allen’s aggressiveness is a fun asset, it occasionally burns him into making a bad turnover — like he did in throwing an interception into double coverage in Week 4 loss to the Patriots. Allen will have to keep the turnovers down to win this award.3. Kenneth Walker III, RB, Kansas City Chiefs — 3 votesStats: 106 rushes, 665 rushing yards, 6 rushing TDs; 14 catches, 95 receiving yards, 2 receiving TDsThe case for Walker: Walker leads the NFL by far with 52 broken tackles, per NFL Next Gen Stats, breaking a tackle on a league-high 43% of his touches. But it’s not just power.
Close your eyes, critics of Walker’s speed: According to Next Gen Stats, he has reached 15-plus mph on 23 different carries this season (tied for the second most in the league) and has two of the four running plays leaguewide to hit 21-plus mph. It has helped him to a healthy 6.3 yards per carry on the season.Walker said coach Andy Reid had a summer conversation with him stating the belief that Walker could be a three-down player and prove that he was more than the bruiser back he had been stereotyped as due to limited receiving reps. Walker has become a reliable passing game playmaker, forcing defenses to remain honest in their defensive scheme.And Walker’s destruction has really forced defenses to completely change how they play the 5-0 Chiefs. An AFC wide receiver coach who picked Walker said, “Biggest thing is he’s taken off so much load from Mahomes coming off injury.
He’s the center of their offense right now. He’s been the best free agent pickup in [the] whole league.”The case against Walker: The last non-QB to win MVP was Adrian Peterson, who rushed for more than 2,000 yards and came just 8 yards from the single-season rushing record in 2012. Despite his excellent start, Walker shares a backfield with Patrick Mahomes, who will likely garner more MVP love and offensive w
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