Can Cam Newton Win the NFL MVP?
It is always interesting to see what Las Vegas expects to see from teams and players. When looking at the latest NFL player props on Bovada last night, I noticed that former Auburn Tiger Cam Newton is currently listed among the favorites to win the NFL’s 2014 Most Valuable Player Award. It got me thinking, can Cam Newton win the NFL MVP?
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At 33-to-1, Newton is far from a sure thing, but he could become Auburn’s first ever to take home the hardware. With those odds, Newton is the 14th most likely player in the National Football League to take home the league’s highest honor.
Peyton Manning, the reigning MVP and a record-setting five-time winner, is expected to repeat with odds of 7-to-2. Manning won his first MVP in his sixth season, and according to Pro-Football-Reference.com, Newton is on a similar career trajectory to Manning at this point in his career.
It obviously won’t be easy for Newton to win the MVP, but despite competing with an elite selection of quarterbacks including Manning and fellow past winners Tom Brady and Aaron Rogers, the young signal caller is capable. Newton has as much upside as any player in the league, and is primed for a breakout performance in 2014.
The 2010 Heisman Trophy winner is a two-time Pro Bowler in three professional seasons, making the team when he threw for more than 4,000 yards and scored 14 touchdowns on the ground as a rookie in 2011. Also, Newton was named the Offensive Rookie of the Year that season by the Associated Press.
He has yet to repeat those numbers, but Newton had a respectable 3,379 yards and a career-high 24 touchdowns last season in his second Pro Bowl-worthy campaign. Overall, there is a positive progression in many areas for the 6-foot-6, 260-pound quarterback. In fact, Newton also posted a career best completion percentage (61.7%), passer rating (88.8) and most importantly, wins (12). He did throw 13 interceptions, which was one more than 2012, but showed a big improvement over his rookie season when Newton tossed 17 picks.
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The Atlanta native was able to spread the football around last year, and he did not have to do everything himself. The team certainly benefitted from that extra dimension on offense and won the NFC South, which gave Newton his first taste of the pro football post-season. He also showed great leadership by engineering four comeback wins in 2013 – which ranked second in the NFL.
Now, with new weapons on offense like rookie receiver Kelvin Benjamin (who Auburn fans know all too well), teaming with returning veterans such as tight end Greg Olsen and running back DeAngelo Williams, Newton’s numbers should only improve.
In 2014, 4,500 passing yards and 800 rushing yards are not out of the question, especially if the Panthers can continue their winning ways. With yardage like that, 35 touchdown passes and 10 rushing scores seem manageable. If Newton racks up career-high yardage, and the team is contending for another division title, he should certainly be in the mix for MVP honors.
It obviously depends on what other players do as well, but if Cam Newton can put up numbers like that, an MVP is not only possible, it’s likely. If you agree, get your bets in now, because 33-to-1 may not last long.