Top 5 NFL MVP Candidates After Week 4

We are officially one month into the 2026 NFL season.

Four weeks is nowhere near enough time to decide who will eventually win MVP, but it is enough to start separating the players who have made the strongest early cases.

Some familiar names are here. Some aren’t.

And while the MVP award has increasingly become dominated by quarterbacks, we’re not treating this as a quarterback-only ranking. If you are one of the most valuable players in football through four weeks, you belong in the conversation.

So, based strictly on what we’ve seen through the first month of the season, here are the EST Top 5 NFL MVP candidates.

1. Brock Purdy — QB, San Francisco 49ers

Team Record: 4–0

Stats:

1,007 passing yards
11 passing touchdowns
1 interception
122 rushing yards
1 rushing touchdown
12 total touchdowns

Brock Purdy is our MVP through one month.

San Francisco is 4–0, sitting atop our EST Elite power rankings, and Purdy has been at the center of everything the 49ers have accomplished.

The efficiency immediately stands out. Purdy has thrown 11 touchdowns against just one interception, while already surpassing 1,000 passing yards. He’s also contributed another 122 yards and a touchdown on the ground, giving him 12 total touchdowns through four games.

He hasn’t needed to throw for 400 yards every week or play superhero football. He has consistently made the right plays, protected the football and delivered when San Francisco has needed him.

The 49ers haven’t lost a game, and their quarterback has been one of the most efficient players in football.

Through four weeks, nobody has a better MVP case.

2. Kenneth Walker III — RB, Kansas City Chiefs

Team Record: 4–0

Stats:

537 rushing yards
NFL rushing leader through four weeks
177 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns in Week 4

Yes, a running back is No. 2.

And he deserves to be.

Kenneth Walker III hasn’t simply been putting up great numbers. He has changed the way the Kansas City Chiefs can play offense.

Walker leads the NFL with 537 rushing yards through four games, and his Week 4 performance against Las Vegas was ridiculous: 177 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries.

Kansas City has spent years asking Patrick Mahomes to carry enormous responsibility. Now defenses have another major problem.

They have to respect Walker.

His explosiveness gives Kansas City a legitimate rushing threat, makes play action more dangerous and allows the Chiefs to operate differently than they have in recent seasons.

The Chiefs are 4–0, and Walker has been one of the biggest reasons why.

If MVP is truly supposed to mean Most Valuable Player and not simply “best quarterback,” Kenneth Walker III belongs near the very top of the list.

3. Patrick Mahomes — QB, Kansas City Chiefs

Team Record: 4–0

Stats:

1,037 passing yards
9 passing touchdowns
2 interceptions
106.2 passer rating
41 rushing yards
1 rushing touchdown
10 total touchdowns

And right behind Walker is his quarterback.

Patrick Mahomes is once again playing excellent football, and Kansas City remains perfect through four games.

Mahomes has thrown for 1,037 yards with nine touchdowns and only two interceptions, while adding another touchdown with his legs. That gives him 10 total touchdowns through the opening month.

What makes Kansas City particularly scary this season is that Mahomes doesn’t have to do everything himself.

Walker has transformed the running game, which has taken pressure off Mahomes and given this offense another dimension. But Mahomes remains Mahomes.

When Kansas City needs a play, there is still nobody you would rather have controlling the offense.

An undefeated record and another excellent statistical start puts Mahomes firmly in our top three.

4. Josh Allen — QB, Buffalo Bills

Team Record: 3–1

Stats:

1,039 passing yards
6 passing touchdowns
3 interceptions
100.1 passer rating
118 rushing yards
7 rushing touchdowns
13 total touchdowns

Now those numbers tell the full story.

Josh Allen has only thrown six touchdown passes through four games, but focusing on that number alone completely undersells what he’s done.

Allen has already scored seven touchdowns on the ground, giving him 13 total touchdowns through the first month — the most of any quarterback on this list.

He was right near the top of our MVP conversation through the first three weeks. Then New England happened.

Buffalo entered Week 4 undefeated before suffering a 29–26 home loss to the Patriots. That defeat knocks Allen down our rankings, but it doesn’t erase what he accomplished during the opening month.

His ability to beat defenses both through the air and on the ground remains one of the biggest reasons Buffalo is so difficult to defend.

The Bills’ first loss keeps him below Purdy and Mahomes for now, but statistically, Allen’s MVP case remains extremely strong.

One great month can put him right back near the top.

5. Jaxon Smith-Njigba — WR, Seattle Seahawks

Team Record: 3–1

Stats:

32 receptions
481 receiving yards
6 receiving touchdowns
120.3 receiving yards per game

Our fifth spot goes to a wide receiver.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba has been absolutely ridiculous.

Through four games, JSN has already accumulated 481 receiving yards and six touchdowns, averaging more than 120 yards per game.

His first three games were especially absurd. Smith-Njigba entered Week 4 with 405 yards and six touchdowns before adding another 76 yards in Seattle’s 30–23 victory over the Chargers.

Seattle is 3–1 and sitting among the best teams in the NFC, and JSN has established himself as the centerpiece of its passing attack.

It’s extremely difficult for a wide receiver to win MVP. The award simply doesn’t favor the position.

But this isn’t a prediction of who the voters will eventually choose.

This is about who has played like one of the five most valuable players in football through one month.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba has.

Dark Horse: Bryce Young — QB, Carolina Panthers

Team Record: 2–2

Stats:

1,268 passing yards
9 passing touchdowns
2 interceptions
100.0 passer rating
19 rushing yards
1 rushing touchdown
10 total touchdowns

Don’t sleep on Bryce Young.

Carolina might only be 2–2, but Young has quietly been one of the best quarterbacks in football through the opening month.

He leads the NFL with 1,268 passing yards and has thrown nine touchdowns against only two interceptions. He has also become the first quarterback in Panthers history to throw for at least 250 yards and a touchdown in each of the team’s first four games of a season.

And Week 4 might have been his best performance yet.

Against Detroit on Sunday Night Football, Young completed 29 of 41 passes for 329 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions, posting a 110.7 passer rating while leading Carolina to a 32–26 victory.

The biggest thing holding him back in our rankings is simple: Carolina’s record.

At 2–2, it’s difficult to put Young ahead of players producing at an elite level for teams sitting at 3–1 or 4–0.

But if Bryce continues playing like this and Carolina starts stacking wins?

He won’t remain a dark horse for long.

Final Thoughts

Four games down. Thirteen to go.

A lot will change.

Purdy could cool off. Walker’s historic rushing pace could slow down. Mahomes and Allen could eventually take control of the race. Bryce Young could turn his incredible start into a legitimate MVP campaign. Another player could explode over the next month and force his way onto this list.

But we’re judging what has actually happened, not what we expect to happen.

Right now, Brock Purdy is our MVP.

Kenneth Walker III is right behind him, Patrick Mahomes remains firmly in contention, Josh Allen isn’t going anywhere and Jaxon Smith-Njigba has forced a wide receiver into the conversation.

And lurking just outside that group is Bryce Young.

We’ll check back as the season progresses and see how much this list changes.

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