Josh Allen is back where sportsbooks have been putting him for years: near the top of the MVP board.
The Buffalo Bills quarterback opens as the favorite for this season’s award, with FanDuel listing him at +550 and DraftKings at +600. It’s familiar territory for Allen, who was the preseason favorite in 2022 and has started every season since 2021 ranked among the top four MVP contenders.
The chase behind him is crowded, but it’s still quarterback country. Lamar Jackson, a two-time MVP winner, sits second on DraftKings at +800 and third on FanDuel at +1100, where he’s grouped with Justin Herbert and Drake Maye. Joe Burrow is right in the mix as well, checking in ahead of Jackson on FanDuel at +1000 and just behind him on DraftKings at +850.
The rest of the board reads like a who’s who of established starting quarterbacks: Dak Prescott, Caleb Williams, Patrick Mahomes and the reigning MVP Matthew Stafford.
Mahomes, of course, is never far from the conversation. DraftKings has him at +1000, while FanDuel is more cautious at +1700 as he comes off an ACL injury.
Kansas City also brought in Kenneth Walker III at running back to give him more help on offense. Even so, the numbers show how unusual this spot is for Mahomes - these are his longest preseason MVP odds since 2018, when he won the award for the first time.
He was the preseason favorite five times from 2019 through 2024, missing that spot only in the season he captured his second MVP in 2022.
Williams is the fresh name in the upper tier. The Chicago Bears quarterback is +1200 on DraftKings and +1700 on FanDuel, which places him just outside the top 10.
He guided the Bears to an NFC North title and a playoff win last season, but there’s some skepticism that Chicago is due to slide back. Still, the talent around him is real.
Rome Odunze made a big Year 2 jump when healthy, and if Luther Burden III and Colston Loveland make similar strides in their second seasons, the Bears could have a dangerous receiving group and the kind of firepower that helps a quarterback stack numbers.
If you want a non-quarterback name, the market is thin. Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs and Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson are the top options outside the position that usually owns this award.
Gibbs is 45-to-1 on FanDuel and a much longer 120-to-1 on DraftKings. Robinson is 60-to-1 on FanDuel and 100-to-1 on DraftKings.
History still leans hard toward quarterbacks, and it doesn’t often reward the preseason favorite. Tom Brady was the last one to turn that into an MVP trophy in 2017. Since then, the winner’s path has usually come from somewhere else on the board - Stafford opened at 35-to-1 last season, while Jackson was 40-to-1 the year he first won it.
This season’s first chance for somebody to make an early move comes in Week 1. Drake Maye and the New England Patriots travel to Seattle on Wednesday in a Super Bowl rematch.
Stafford and the Super Bowl-favorite Los Angeles Rams meet the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday night. Then Mahomes gets his knee tested on Monday night against the Denver Broncos.
In Other News...
Bills Face A Texans Problem That Could Decide Their Opener
Houstons defense gave Buffalo a look last season that is hard to ignore heading into the opener. The Texans sent extra rushers at one of the lowest rates in the league, yet still found ways to get after quarterbacks, including Josh Allen in a Week 12 meeting when Buffalo saw pressure even though the blitz came sparingly. For a Bills offense that wants to keep Allen upright and in rhythm, that kind of pressure profile is the kind of problem that can shape a game plan before the first snap.
James Cook looms as a key answer because the Bills may need more than protection schemes and quick throws to keep Houston honest. If the Texans can create disruption without overcommitting, Buffalo will have to lean on the run game to slow the rush and open up space for everything else. It is the sort of matchup detail that can quietly decide an opener, especially against a defense that has already shown it can make life uncomfortable without sending the house. [Read more 🡒]
Mike Tomlin Just Created A Bills What-If Fans Will Notice
Mike Tomlins first public comments since parting ways with the Steelers in January had a ripple effect that Bills fans were bound to notice. After 19 seasons in Pittsburgh, the longtime head coach said in a recent interview that he is open to getting back into the NFL if the right opportunity comes along, and he also spoke glowingly about Josh Allen while reflecting on his time away from the sideline.
For Buffalo, it is the kind of what-if that naturally lingers around a franchise built around a franchise quarterback and high expectations. Tomlin did not sound eager to rush into anything, but he made it clear he still sees coaching as a real possibility, which only adds another layer to a future that already has Bills fans thinking about how long this current window can stay open. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Captain Picks Say A Lot About Buffalos 2026 Leadership Plan
The Bills have settled on their leadership core for the 2026 season, and the group says plenty about how the locker room is being shaped around both continuity and change. Josh Allen and Terrel Bernard are back in their familiar roles as captains, while Dawson Knox, Bradley Chubb, Reid Ferguson and Sam Franklin Jr. round out a group that mixes established voices with a few new faces.
For Knox, it is his first time wearing the captain label, a notable step for a player who has long been part of the team's identity on offense. Allen, meanwhile, keeps extending one of the more durable captaincy runs on the roster, reaching his eighth, and the mix of returning leaders and first-time additions suggests the Bills are leaning on experience while widening the circle of responsibility heading into the new season. [Read more 🡒]