NFL execs, coaches rank the top five MVP candidates for 2026 - ESPN

We're already one game into Week 7. And with more than a third of the 2026 NFL regular season officially behind us, it's time to start taking the temperature of the MVP race. Which players are making a memorable impact with their play?

We polled 16 NFL front office executives, coaches and personnel people with a simple question: Who is your league MVP through the first six weeks? From there, we were able to form a top-five list. One coach joked that MVP is basically a quarterback-only award so there's no need to list players at other positions. And yes, there are two early QB favorites. But our ballot shows just how wide open this race is this season, with multiple running backs and even a wide receiver landing in our top five.

There is still a lot of time to shift things, but here is where a sample of people around the league feel things stand right now.

Stats: 69.6% completion rate, 1,460 passing yards, 14 passing TDs, 2 INTs; 156 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD

The case for Purdy: Purdy leads the NFL with an 83.1 QBR and is tied for the league lead with 14 touchdown passes. He also has just five sacks on the season, and his effectiveness as a runner has made him even more difficult to defend. But Purdy's superpower is his accuracy. He has a 5.1% completion percentage over expectation, per NFL Next Gen Stats, and he completes an NFL-high 88% of his passes to open receivers (3-plus yards of separation).

The 49ers look like the NFL's best team at this stage with a 6-0 record, and it's largely because Purdy is having the best season of his career. He has helped San Francisco overcome an NFL-high 22 players being placed on injured reserve. As one AFC assistant general manager said, "Josh Allen is the easy answer. But my pick