Is it officially the year of the running back? Well, at least when it comes to NFL MVP Award contenders.
Year after year the prestigious honor goes to a quarterback. This time around, however, some people are hoping to see the title get handed off to a running back.
Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams joined the RG3 and The Ones podcast presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment to talk about it.
“First of all, I think the MVP should be anybody that actually brings value to a team or brings value to whatever conference or whatever division that they’re in,” Williams told Robert Griffin III. “You know, I feel like it shouldn’t just be a quarterback thing. It could be a lineman if that’s the case if your quarterback ain’t got touched all year — the offensive linemen got to be a part of that reason, so I think it’s definitely needs to be opened up.”
Williams believes a specific running back deserves the MVP this season.
“As for Christian McCaffrey, I really feel like if he wins that, it’s going to open up a lot of things — a lot more opportunities for running backs, and we might get that image that if people look at us, they might get thrown out the door finally because running backs do bring a whole lot of importance to an offense, you know? Like I don’t know how you can say you don’t need a running — like you wouldn’t need a running back — but how? If you can’t establish the run, how are you going to throw the ball?
“I hope McCaffrey do get it,” Williams said. “Just for the running backs.”
McCaffrey is a long shot for the award this season. While he’s among the top contenders, Lamar Jackson is the heavy favorite to take home his second award.
Williams isn’t alone in his sentiment about CMC deserving the honor, however. Future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady says the “dynamic” McCaffrey deserves it as well.
“He is a dynamic player now, and I think all of what he’s done this year is a lot of what he’s done in the past. It’s a different team with some different opportunities, and they’ve been really dynamic on offense,” he said.
This season, McCaffrey’s tallied 2,024 yards from scrimmage with 21 touchdowns.
About Jessica Kleinschmidt
Jess is a baseball fan with Reno, Nev. roots residing in the Bay Area. She is the host of "Short and to the Point" and is also a broadcaster with the Oakland A's Radio Network. She previously worked for MLB.com and NBC Sports Bay Area.