The Rams have already done the unthinkable by entering the 2026 season with the reigning NFL MVP and the reigning Defensive Player of the Year on the same roster. That alone makes them the standard everyone else has to chase.
But if you look beyond Los Angeles, there are a few teams with a real shot to pull off the same kind of double-dip in 2026. Some have a quarterback who can get hot enough to win MVP.
Others have a pass rusher or corner who can wreck games all season and take home DPOY. A few have both.
Here are three teams that could end up with the league’s top individual honors on both sides of the ball.
The Philadelphia Eagles might be the boldest pick, but they also might have the deepest pool of candidates. On offense, Jalen Hurts is still in the mix after finishing 2nd in MVP voting in 2022 and winning Super Bowl MVP in the 2024 season.
He’s coming off a down year, but if he bounces back, he’s absolutely part of the conversation again. Saquon Barkley is in that mix too after finishing 3rd in MVP voting during the 2024 season.
The defensive side is where Philadelphia really starts stacking names. Quinyon Mitchell is a 1st-team All-Pro.
Zack Baun finished 5th in DPOY voting just two seasons ago. And Jalen Carter just became the highest-paid defensive lineman in NFL history.
That’s a lot of firepower for one roster, and it gives the Eagles a legitimate chance to become the second team in NFL history to have both the league MVP and DPOY on the same roster.
Denver is another team that belongs in the discussion, and Nik Bonitto is a big reason why. He’s finished as a finalist in DPOY voting in each of the past two seasons, and the numbers back it up: 27.5 sacks and 52 QB hits over the last two years combined. He finished 4th in voting last year after placing 9th the year before, so the league already views him as one of the top edge rushers around.
If Pat Surtain II is the other name you want to throw into the defensive mix, that works too. He was the NFL DPOY in the 2024 season, which tells you exactly where he stands among corners.
The real swing factor for Denver is Bo Nix. Over his first two seasons, he became just the 3rd quarterback in league history, alongside Peyton Manning and Justin Herbert, to post at least 3,500 passing yards and 25 touchdown passes in each of his first two years.
He also already has 11 game-winning drives, which says plenty about his poise when the game is on the line. The talent is there for MVP-level production, but the question is whether he can bring it every week in year three.
Denver is betting on that upside, especially after adding Jaylen Waddle this offseason.
Detroit is the most intriguing case because it has two offensive names who could get into the MVP race and a defender who already looks like a DPOY threat. Jared Goff would need something special, but if he gets the Lions back to the No. 1 seed in the NFC after a down year in 2025 and throws 40-plus touchdowns, he could absolutely force his way into the discussion.
Then there’s Jahmyr Gibbs, who has the kind of explosiveness that can put him in the total yards-from-scrimmage lead. A running back winning MVP is rare, but it’s not impossible. The problem is the field is loaded, especially in the NFC, so Gibbs would need monster numbers to break through.
On defense, Aidan Hutchinson is already sitting near the top of the DPOY board. He put up a career-high 14.5 sacks and 4 forced fumbles last season, and that came after a major injury. If that was the baseline, 2026 could be even more dangerous.
The Rams may be the team everyone is watching first, but Philadelphia, Denver, and Detroit all have the kind of star power that could make 2026 a season where one franchise owns both of the league’s biggest individual awards.
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