There is plenty of debate around this year’s NFL MVP race.
The league is stacked with top talent, and this season a number of stars have put up stats worthy of winning the top award.
Heading into Week 18, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is favourite to scoop the prize, but the likes of Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow and even running back Saquon Barkley are not far behind him.
A case can be made for each of those names, and the race is sure to be tight.
But former NFL cornerback Jason Bell believes one star stands out above the rest.
When asked by talkSPORT to name his MVP pick, Bell had only one choice – Lamarvelous ‘highlight’ Jackson.
“The way he’s playing right now, he’s playing his best football,” he said of the Ravens star.
“And you know what I thought the other day when I was thinking about who my MVP was, when he came out [of college] and all those top evaluators were saying, ‘This guy should play receiver’.
“Baltimore gambled on him and we forget that. We forget that he was not the chosen one. He has evolved the game. You can’t stop him. He gets faster as the season progresses.
“I looked at some runs he made the other day and I’m like, ‘He’s got these people out here looking slow’. This is the kind of player he is.”
Bell went on to suggest that Jackson has become ‘unstoppable’ as the season has progressed, suggesting the Ravens QB now has a ‘fear factor’ around him.
“He gets better. As the season grows, you know, he’s taken care of himself more. He hasn’t missed games being sick like a couple of years ago.
“The guy is unstoppable. He is scary. I’ve played against Michael Vick before. The fear factor is real and the way he’s playing now in the pocket, out of the pocket.
“When the play extends more than four seconds, he has eight touchdowns and zero interceptions. That’s crazy and you just lose it as he starts moving around. As a defense, you’re like, ‘I don’t know what’s gonna happen’.
“Lamar is my MVP. I love the way Josh Allen is playing. I love what Saquon Barkley has done, but it’s Lamar Jackson.”
In Week 18, Jackson will have one final chance to show why he should be named MVP for the third time.
The Ravens host the Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday, and ‘Lamarvelous’ can put the finishing touches on a remarkable regular season, which has already seen him pass Michael Vick as the NFL’s all-time leading rushing QB.
According to ESPN, he also ranks No. 1 in the NFL in four different categories heading into the finale: QBR (78.0), yards per pass attempt (8.9), touchdown pass percentage (8.8%) and passing touchdown-to-interception ratio (9.8).
Jackson, though, does trail Burrow in both passing yards and touchdowns this year.
The Bengals QB has been incredible this year, with 4,641 yards and 42 TDs. However, Cincinnati are in serious danger of missing the playoffs.
Allen, meanwhile, will play in the postseason. And while he is behind both Jackson and Burrow with 3,731 passing yards and 28 touchdowns, he has led the Bills to the AFC East title with a 13-3 record.
Running back Barkley has also caught the eye, and pulled off the NFL’s highlight play of the year.
He rushed for an incredible 2,005 yards in 2024, but will likely be rested in Week 18 by the Philadelphia Eagles and will fall short of Eric Dickerson’s single-season record (2,105 yards).
Each of those four stars were touted as the favourite for the MVP award at one point in time, and with just one game left in the 2024 season, it will be interesting to see who eventually scoops the honour.
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talkSPORT will bring you live coverage across Week 18 with a double header featuring the Cincinnati Bengals @ Pittsburgh Steelers and the Minnesota Vikings @ Detroit Lions
