Robert Griffin III Pleads For Non-QB To Win NFL MVP Award

Former QB Robert Griffin III doesn't believe the NFL's MVP award should be exactly what it's become: a quarterback's award.

The ex-Baylor and Washington Redskins (yes, they were the Redskins when he was under center) star, now an ESPN analyst, pleaded this week for voters to give the honor to a player "having a SPECIAL year" in a now-viral tweet.

"The NFL MVP SHOULDN’T just be a QB Award." he said. "The discussion revolves around the best QBs on the best teams but when guys are having a SPECIAL YEAR like Justin Jefferson and Nick Bosa they have EARNED THE RIGHT to be in the conversation."

Robert Griffin III thinks Nick Bosa, Justin Jefferson more deserving of NFL MVP

RGIII isn't the only one pleading for Nick Bosa to win this year's MVP, either. Bosa's 49ers head coach, Kyle Shanahan, doubled down on his stance earlier this week, too.

“I feel like we could sit him these next two weeks and my mind would be blown if he wasn't the defensive MVP. He’s been great," Shanahan said Wednesday.

Both guys are right, by the way. In recent years, the award has turned into a quarterback carousel, with a signal-caller winning every year since 2013. Adrian Peterson was the last non-QB to win back in 2012, and a QB has won every other year since 2007.

Predictably, the MVP race this season has centered around Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts, with a sprinkling of Tua Tagovailoa and Josh Allen mixed in back in November.

Robert Griffin III thinks Nick Bosa should win MVP. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)

Mahomes is the odds-on favorite to win right now, followed by Joe Burrow, Allen and Hurts. Over at DraftKings, Justin Jefferson (+5000) and Tyreek Hill are the only non-QBs with any odds to win the award.

RGIII certainly has a point about Jefferson and Bosa, and both should absolutely be in the conversation.

Bosa leads the league with 17.5 sacks, Jefferson leads the league with 123 receptions and 1,756 yards, and both have been perhaps the biggest difference-makers in the NFL.

Mahomes and Hurts have been great all season, and Burrow hasn't lost since Halloween, so all three QBs certainly have a case. But have they been better than Bosa or Jefferson?

RGIII doesn't think so.