Can Trent McDuffie Win Super Bowl MVP?
As The Office's Kevin Malone once said, "If you get 10,000-1 odds on anything, you take them. If John Mellencamp ever wins an Oscar, I'm going to be a very rich dude." Well, how about 25,000-1 odds? Those are the odds that former Husky cornerback Trent McDuffie is getting to take home Super Bowl MVP.
Now, let's preface this with the fact that there's a very, very low probability of this happening, but there's definitely a chance. It's not like you're betting on Kansas City's punter Tommy Townsend, who has +50000 odds (no offense to him). McDuffie, the 21st overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, started all 11 games that he appeared in for the Chiefs in his rookie season.
While a hamstring injury against the Arizona Cardinals in the season opener kept him out for six weeks, McDuffie really found a groove when he returned. While he doesn't have a lot to show for it on the stat sheet, his first season in the NFL was a huge success.
According to Player Profiler, McDuffie only allowed 25 receptions over his 11 games played, and receivers gained just 253 yards on those catches. The former number is 14th among qualified cornerbacks in 2022, and the latter is seventh in the NFL. He also proved to be at his best in big games, locking down arguably the best receiver in football, Cincinnati's Ja'Marr Chase in the AFC Championship game.
The Eagles present an equally tough task for the Chiefs defense in the Super Bowl as the Bengals did in the AFC Championship. With two elite receivers in Devonta Smith and AJ Brown, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is going to have his hands full. The most likely matchup for McDuffie is with Smith, the former Heisman winner and 10th overall pick.
One of the smoothest route runners in football, Smith has broken out in his second season in the NFL. He went over 100 yards in four of Philadelphia's final six regular season games, and has emerged as one of the top targets for MVP candidate Jalen Hurts.
Spagnolo is known as one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL, and has done an excellent job putting his defense, which is currently starting five rookies, into positions to be successful. It seems very likely that Hurts is going to test Kansas City's young secondary early and often, and a player of McDuffie's caliber could change the tide of the game early by breaking up a few passes, and potentially snagging an interception.
There is definitely a scenario where McDuffie gets the better of Smith a few times early, and if he can find a way to generate a turnover, and maybe even score a touchdown on defense, where he can be named Super Bowl MVP. While this is an incredibly unlikely scenario, what's a five-dollar bet on +25000 odds? Worst case scenario, you skip the coffee shop on Monday morning.
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