NFL executives landed on a new AFC name for the 2026 MVP race as old favorites Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson all weren't named in a recent ESPN survey
Joe Burrow
Joe Burrow and Josh Allen are two of the 2026 MVP favorites(Image: Getty Images)
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A poll of anonymous NFL scouts and executives picked out by ESPN writer Jeremy Fowler didn't name 2025 MVP winner Matthew Stafford as the favorite for the 2026 award. Nor did they name past winners like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, or Lamar Jackson.
Instead, the panel named Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, fresh off an offseason where his dating rumors stole the headlines, as the favorite. The 29-year-old missed almost all of the 2025 season due to a turf toe injury.
His Bengals are not favored in the AFC North — that honor belongs to Jackson's Baltimore Ravens — but he'll once again team up with receiver Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins in what projects to be a potent offense.
Two other players received votes in Fowler's survey: Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, the 2024 MVP winner, and Los Angeles Chargers QB Justin Herbert.
Burrow finished third in a vaunted 2024 MVP race behind Allen and Jackson after throwing for 4,918 yards and 43 touchdowns, though his Bengals missed the playoffs with a 9-8 record.
Joe Burrow
Joe Burrow will have trust pass catcher Ja'Marr Chase back in 2026(Image: Getty Images)
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He teased in a recent press conference that he may not throw the ball 652 times like he did in 2024. 2026: “We’re not going to have to throw it 600-something times,” Burrow said.
“I don’t think we’re going to have to do that. I’m ready for it if we need to, and the fact that we have that under our belt can help us win games like that. We’ve played so many different ways over the years that whatever the defense throws at us, we’re going to be ready for it.”
Joe Burrow
Joe Burrow missed most of the 2025 season with a toe injury(Image: Getty Images)
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There were rumors this offseason that the 2020 No. 1 overall pick could ask out of Cincinnati should the team fail to reach the playoffs once again. Burrow hasn't played in the postseason since the 2022 season, when they lost to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.
The quarterback tried to squash any rumors and the growing distraction when speaking with the team's official site last week.
"I'm here for the long haul," Burrow told Bengals.com. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm just trying to bring a now-or-never mentality to the day-by-day process. If you're not, what are you doing? Attack the day with a championship mindset. The rest will take care of itself."
He has a contract with the team through 2029 after signing an extension at the tail end of his rookie contract