The 2023 NFL season has entered its eighth week. With the trade deadline approaching on Oct. 31, there will be determinations made about whether teams will go all-out for a Super Bowl push or begin their rebuild for the next couple of seasons. But we have now reached the point in which there will be debates regarding who should win the NFL MVP award.
One player who has stood out through the first eight weeks of the season is Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown. On Sunday against the Washington Commanders, Brown caught all eight of his targets for 130 yards and two touchdowns in the 38-31 victory. After this performance, Brown became the first player in NFL history to record over 125 receiving yards in six consecutive games.
With Brown's historic season thus far, when was the last time a wide receiver won the NFL MVP award?
No wide receiver has ever won the NFL MVP award
Unfortunately for wide receivers, none have ever hoisted the prestigious award.
The AP NFL Most Valuable Player award has mostly been given to quarterbacks. The last position player to be named the NFL MVP was Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson in 2012. Peterson ran for 2,097 yards and averaged 131.1 rushing yards per game, both of which were league-highs. Peterson was just shy of breaking the single-season rushing yard record set by Eric Dickerson in 1984 (2,105 rushing yards).
Every position player to win the NFL MVP award
Here are all of the position players to win the NFL MVP award:
- 1957: Jim Brown, Fullback, Cleveland Browns
- 1958: Jim Brown, Fullback, Cleveland Browns
- 1961: Paul Hornung, Halfback, Green Bay Packers
- 1962: Jim Taylor, Fullback, Green Bay Packers
- 1965: Jim Brown, Fullback, Cleveland Browns
- 1971: Alan Page, Defensive tackle, Minnesota Vikings
- 1972: Larry Brown, Running back, Washington
- 1973: O.J. Simpson, Running back, Buffalo Bills
- 1977: Walter Payton, Running back, Chicago Bears
- 1979: Earl Campbell, Running back, Houston Oilers
- 1982: Mark Moseley, Kicker, Washington
- 1985: Marcus Allen, Running back, Los Angeles Raiders
- 1986: Lawrence Taylor, Linebacker, New York Giants
- 1991: Thurman Thomas, Running back, Buffalo Bills
- 1993: Emmitt Smith, Running back, Dallas Cowboys
- 1997: Barry Sanders, Running back, Detroit Lions (co-MVP with Green Bay Packer quarterback Brett Favre)
- 2000: Marshall Faulk, Running back, St. Louis Rams
- 2005: Shaun Alexander, Running back, Seattle Seahawks
- 2006: LaDainian Tomlinson, Running back, San Diego Chargers
- 2012: Adrian Peterson, Running back, Minnesota Vikings