The San Francisco 49ers haven’t had an NFL MVP award winner since 1994 when quarterback Steve Young took home the trophy for a second time in three seasons.
They got close in 2023 when running back Christian McCaffrey and quarterback Brock Purdy finished No. 3 and No. 4 in the voting, respectively. We were sifting through their chances to snag an MVP winner for the first time in more than 30 years and came up with five players who could bring the award back to the Bay Area:
5. LB Fred Warner
It’s admittedly hard to fathom a linebacker winning an MVP award. We picked Warner out of respect for his all-around skill set and the fact he was a First-Team All-Pro last year despite playing from Week 4 on with a fractured ankle. If the 49ers have the No. 1 defense and Warner leads the way with a few interceptions, a handful of sacks, and some dominant prime time performances, perhaps an off-ball LB works his way into the MVP conversation.
4. QB Mac Jones
Look, at least we’re making Jones the No. 4 candidate and not No. 1 like some people did after Sam Darnold signed with the 49ers ahead of the 2023 season. That was actually a thing. While Jones hasn’t been particularly good since his rookie season, he’s still a quarterback which gives him a major boost in the MVP discussion. If Purdy gets hurt early in the year and Jones steps into head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense, thrives and leads San Francisco to a division title, he would at the very least be in the discussion for the award.
3. DE Nick Bosa
Playing a high-profile position where sacks offer a flashy, catch-all stat for voters to cite helps Bosa’s case quite a bit over other defensive players. The 49ers would love to get a year from their former Defensive Player of the Year where he leaps into the MVP conversation. If he does, it means he’s in the 20-plus sack realm and spearheading a defense that is one of the NFL’s most dominant units.
2. RB Christian McCaffrey
We don’t need to reach very far to make McCaffrey an MVP candidate considering he finished third in MVP voting just two years ago. Despite his recent injury problems, McCaffrey is still the most unique playmaker on the 49ers. Quarterback Brock Purdy may have to rely on McCaffrey a lot as a receiver, putting another season with 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards on the table. If he hits those benchmarks on a high-octane 49ers offense, he’ll be back in the MVP mix.
1. QB Brock Purdy
The 49ers paid Purdy like a player who can win an MVP, and he played like that in 2023. Last season he took a step back, but if he and the 49ers improve this year, and the 49ers offense gets back to scoring 30 points on almost everyone, he’ll be prominent in the MVP discourse.