Joe Burrow Predicted as NFL MVP in Poll of Execs, Full List of Award Winners Ahead 2026 Season

On the eve of the 2026 NFL season kicking off, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is predicted to win the MVP award by people who work in the league.

Per a survey of NFL executives and scouts conducted by ESPN's Jeremy Fowler , Burrow was a slight favorite for the MVP over Justin Herbert and Josh Allen.

Here is the full list of predicted award winners from the ESPN survey.

Perhaps sensing some unease from Burrow after missing the playoffs in each of the past three seasons, the Bengals acted aggressively this offseason in a way that is not in keeping with their usual business model.

Cincinnati traded the No. 10 overall pick in the 2026 draft to the New York Giants for Dexter Lawrence to boost its defensive line talent. The trade marked the first time since 1989 the Bengals didn't have a first-round pick.

The Bengals also spent $125 million to add Boye Mafe, Bryan Cook and Jonathan Allen to their defense in free agency.

Burrow has two fourth-place finishes in MVP voting in 2022 and '24, but around those two years are injury-plagued seasons that kept him off the field for long stretches. He played just eight games in 2025 and 10 in 2023, causing one AFC executive to tell Fowler they don't trust him to stay healthy to be an MVP contender.

"I'm done banking on Burrow because of the injuries," the exec said. "I would, if not for health issues. Stafford won't get it again, Mahomes is coming back from injury, and even though you can't count out Lamar, he's taken a step back. Allen is the safest bet."

The two major individual awards outside of the MVP are predicted to go to Jahmyr Gibbs (Offensive Player of the Year) and Will Anderson Jr. (Defensive Player of the Year).

Trading David Montgomery opened up even more carries for Gibbs in the Detroit Lions' offense. He had already moved into being the lead back last season, starting all 17 games and recording a career-high 320 touches.

Anderson and Myles Garrett were the only players who received votes in the Defensive Player of the Year category. They finished first and second last season with Garrett winning after setting an NFL record with 23 sacks.

One thing that could hurt Garrett, aside from the difficulty of repeating as an award winner unless you improve on your stats from the previous year, is the Los Angeles Rams defense being so loaded up front that it could split some of the voting from that group.

The Houston Texans are also incredibly deep on defense, but Anderson is the unquestioned leader of the pass-rush. It could also help that he has yet to win and is an ascending superstar for a team expected to be among the best in the AFC.