Jets' Strongest Non-QB MVP Candidate for 2023
Quarterbacks have all but claimed a monopoly on the NFL MVP award.
As NFL Media's Eric Edholm calculated, the last 10 winners were all signal callers.
Since 2007, only one non-QB, running back Adrian Peterson in 2012, has captured the league's top individual honor.
If a New York Jet is to claim the honor for the first time ever in 2023, it'll most likely be four-time recipient Aaron Rodgers.
On the contrary, if a defensive player finally snatched the MVP award for the first time in nearly 40 years, a Jet could be responsible for the rarity.
Edholm identified "one non-QB MVP candidate for each AFC team" in an attempt to show "some love for the other 21 guys on the field at any given time." His choice for the Jets was none other than defensive tackle Quinnen Williams.
The 25-year-old Williams proved to be a game wrecker against opposing offenses last year. Appearing unblockable at times, racked up a career-high 12.0 sacks while also stopping the run at a high rate for the NFL's fourth-ranked defense.
The former No. 3 overall draft pick has totaled 25.0 sacks over his last 44 games. He has also accounted for 10 pass deflections and four forced fumbles over that span.
READ SI Sportsbook: Rodgers's Better MVP Odds than two other prominent AFC QBs
The Jets exercised the fifth-year option on Williams's rookie contract, but the defensive centerpiece has expressed his desire for a new deal.
Williams was not present for the NFL's voluntary offseason program this past spring, but Jets' third-year head coach Robert Saleh does not foresee contract negotiations preventing his star defensive tackle from attending training camp.
"I’m not worried at all. That thing will get done and he’ll be here," said Saleh during OTAs.
From "2023 NFL season: Predicting each AFC team's non-QB MVP":
Quinnen Williams
DT · Year 5
Message for the Sauce Gardner fan club: Yes, we love your boy. It's just that Year 2 might not be quite as smooth as Gardner's Defensive Rookie of the Year campaign was, as receivers (and referees) adjust to him. Gardner remains one of the better young corners in the game, but the Jets have a consistently more impactful defender from a snap-to-snap basis.
If Williams, who is set to play on the fifth-year option in 2023, doesn't receive a contract extension prior to the start of this season, the price tag for the Jets might go up. He doubled his sack production last season (12.0) from 2021 (6.0) and more than doubled his QB hits (28) from the year before (12). What's most impressive is how Williams did that last season without a ton around him. The Jets have added more bodies inside this year, and they spent a first-round pick on pass rusher Will McDonald IV. In theory, that should help free Williams up even more -- with or without a new deal.
— Eric Edholm
Although players like Williams are capable of performing at an MVP level, SI Sportsbook suggest it's highly unlikely that a defender finishes first in the award voting and history supports that claim.
New York Giants' legend Lawrence Taylor was the last defensive player to capture the NFL MVP award in 1986.
SI Sportsbook lists odds for a handful of defensive MVP candidates — Micah Parsons (125:1), T.J. Watt (150:1), Nick Bosa (150:1), Aaron Donald (150:1), Myles Garrett (150:1).
Meanwhile, Rodgers has +1400 odds to capture the individual award for the fifth time in his career. Only five other players —all quarterbacks— are more likely to top the NFL MVP race than the Jets' future Hall-of-Fame field general.
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