5 Under-25 QBs With Best NFL MVP Odds: C.J. Stroud Leads Young Passers Vying for Award
Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, and Dan Marino are the only three quarterbacks who have won NFL MVP before their 25th birthday.
Jackson, who first cashed his NFL MVP odds in 2019 at the tender age of 22, was the last under-25 signal-caller to accomplish the rare feat. Mahomes won his first in 2018 when he was 23.
Before Mahomes and Jackson made the extraordinary achievement look ordinary, you'd have to go back to 1984 to source the only other time the MVP award was handed out to a quarterback under 25. Marino's storied 1984 season featured over 5,000 passing yards and 48 touchdowns.
C.J. Stroud's sensational rookie season has led many to wonder whether another megastar in the making can breath from the same rarified air as the aforementioned trio. The 22-year-old Stroud is the second favorite across our best sports betting sites behind Mahomes.
With the abundance of exceptional young quarterback talent currently on display, he is not the only under-25 gunslinger with eyes on the most prized individual accolade.
5 best young quarterbacks & MVP Odds
NFL MVP odds from our best sports betting apps on Aug. 19; chances of winning MVP based on a 1-to-5-star scale
| Player | Team | MVP odds |
|---|---|---|
| C.J. Stroud | Houston Texans | +1000 via bet365 |
| Brock Purdy | San Francisco 49ers | +1800 via DraftKings |
| Trevor Lawrence | Jacksonville Jaguars | +3000 via BetMGM |
| Anthony Richardson | Indianapolis Colts | +3500 via FanDuel |
| Caleb Williams | Chicago Bears | +5000 via BetMGM |
C.J. Stroud
Age: 22
Chances of winning MVP: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Everyone wonders whether Stroud can assemble a sophomore season resembling his rookie campaign. He'll be in the MVP running if he can sustain that exceptionally high level while increasing the number of touchdown passes.
Stroud finished his rookie season with 4,108 passing yards (eighth), 23 touchdown passes (T-13th), and only five picks. He led the Houston Texans to their first AFC South crown since 2019 and had QBR of 57.5 (16th).
With the Texans' sights set on a deep playoff run as one of the Super Bowl odds favorites, Stroud must avoid a second-year regression. While no opponent will be caught off guard this time around, he has even more weapons at his disposal, making the aspirational goal all the more feasible.
Best odds: +1000 via bet365 | Implied probability: 9.09%
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Brock Purdy
Age: 24
Chances of winning MVP: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Purdy left the tag of Mr. Irrelevant in the dust with an MVP-finalist season that finished one Kansas City-sized hurdle short of Super Bowl glory. The 24-year-old was the perfect quarterback to shepherd the league's most formidable offense.
He finished last season with 4,280 passing yards (fifth-most), 31 touchdown passes (third-most), a 72.8 QBR (best), and 11 interceptions, four of which occurred in his worst outing of the season against the Baltimore Ravens. Eight of his 11 interceptions came in three games, while he threw just three in the other 13.
He also had the league's fourth-best completion percentage (69.4%), completing 70% or higher in nine outings, including a near-perfect 95.24% against the Arizona Cardinals in which he missed on just one pass.
Purdy won't be mistaken for being the best athlete among the MVP favorites, but he has an elite football mind and executes Kyle Shanahan's offense as intended.
Best odds: +1800 via DraftKings | Implied probability: 5.26%
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Trevor Lawrence
Age: 24
Chances of winning MVP: ⭐⭐⭐
Lawrence is also a member of the highest-paid NFL players & MVP odds club. He is one of the league's most talented quarterbacks and has the potential to turn a lot of heads in 2024.
However, he pilots an offense that doesn't scream elite.
It didn't help that Lawrence endured a decline across most statistical categories from his sophomore campaign - including passing yards, touchdown passes, completion percentage, completions, pass attempts, and touchdown percentage.
The only increases came in yards per completion and interceptions, the latter representing the ugly duckling of quarterback stats.
However, Lawrence has missile arm strength and arrowing accuracy. Plus, he'll be desperate to have a bounce-back season. Even so, winning the league's MVP award seems just beyond his wide wingspan.
Best odds: +3000 via BetMGM | Implied probability: 3.23%
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Anthony Richardson
Age: 22
Chances of winning MVP: ⭐⭐
Richardson looked like the real deal in his four games as a rookie before being shelved for the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury.
While he obviously has the talent to become an elite NFL signal-caller, his collection of injuries must be disconcerting for the Indianapolis Colts and their fan base. DraftSharks.com projects that he has a 40% chance of suffering some sort of injury in the forthcoming season.
When considering his sordid injury past, that sounds about right. The 22-year-old has sustained a Grade 2 hamstring strain, a knee meniscus tear, and a concussion - all of which came in 2021 before suffering another concussion and season-ending shoulder injury last season.
Even if he can avoid the treatment table, Richardson's ascendancy would have to resemble the trajectory of one of Elon Musk's rockets to win MVP.
Best odds: +3500 via FanDuel | Implied probability: 2.78%
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Caleb Williams
Age: 22
Chances of winning MVP: ⭐⭐⭐
Can you envision Williams taking the league by storm and becoming the second player to ever win Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season?
While that notion is a tad whimsical, Williams has the talent, composure, athleticism, and maturity to make waves in his rookie season. A season mirroring Stroud's rookie campaign is feasible, if not probable.
He will be the prohibitive NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds favorite entering the regular season, and rightly so after two accomplished and seemingly seasoned preseason outings.
There's about a bazillion reasons nobody since Jim Brown in 1957 has done the OROY and MVP double. Still, if his college career is any indication, this man should eventually win an MVP award. It just won't be in 2024-25.
That's why I'd rather bet on him to win Rookie of the Year at plus-money odds.
Best bet: Caleb Williams OROY winner (+140 via Caesars) | Implied probability: 41.67%
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