Tom Brady believes 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey is favorite for NFL MVP – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

As the NFL MVP debate heats up with more than one 49ers player in the conversation, who better to weigh in than the three-time winner of the league’s most prestigious award?

Tom Brady joined the conversation in a recent episode “Let’s go!” Podcast He was accompanied by 49ers All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey, whose name was thrown into the MVP thread along with teammate and San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy.

“I remember the first time I looked at Christian was in the Rose Bowl. He caught a corner pass against Iowa State and ran for about 75 yards. I was like, ‘Well, they’re not going to catch him!’ … He was a dynamic player at that time.” “He’s a dynamic player now, and I think everything he’s done this year is pretty much what he’s done in the past. It’s a different team and they’ve got some different opportunities and they’ve been really dynamic offensively.”

“So he’s definitely in my opinion the best player favorite and according to his quarterback as well, Brock Purdy, who’s saying some great things about him. … And I know you’re going to say, ‘Because you’re a great team player, Super Bowl’ that’s the only thing that really matters. With the amount of time off the full-back has, do you feel like an award like this would be pretty cool?”

McCaffrey — and the entire 49ers team — have made it clear they’re not worried about winning individual awards — no matter how big or important. All San Francisco wants is to return to the Super Bowl and bring home the Lombardi Trophy in February.

To be recognized and even considered for the award means a lot to McCaffrey in terms of his representation of running backs around the league, who, more recently, They expressed their disdain For how its value depreciates over time despite a heavy workload.

“Well, I appreciate you saying that, man. It means a lot,” McCaffrey said to Brady. “I’m not getting into everything related to the award, but for you, I think just being in the conversation is an honor, and specifically for that reason and the timing of it.” . With running backs and some things, I think when you look at the history of the NFL and running backs and where we are now. Every position other than the two at some point has had some type of downturn in terms of the market, and part of it is just fighting against the franchise tag and fighting against different things going on around the league.

“But, you know, I don’t know if that’s why I feel good. It feels good. Obviously there’s still a lot of football left and that’s what I’m really thinking about. But it’s great to see a lot of other full-backs who are achieving.” A lot of success as well. … I look at players around the league who continue to have success and that motivates me and continues to push me to compete with them. But also at the same time, it’s great for the team’s position.”

Brady, a 23-year-old NFL veteran who retired after the 2022 season, won the MVP award in the 2007, 2010 and 2017 seasons. He finished fifth in MVP voting once, third twice and came in second five times.

But even the GOAT himself said he never focused on individual accolades because his eyes were always fixed on the prize of reaching the Super Bowl — which he did 10 times, winning it seven times and being crowned Super Bowl MVP five times.

“Yeah, I mean I felt like I was a lot like Christian,” Brady said. “I felt like team awards — which was ultimately winning championships — was what it was all about. You can have a great individual year, you can be a really good player.” On a bad team, which is not very fun.

“I think for me it was always about celebrating success with other players, and the best moments weren’t accepting the trophy, or the MVP trophy. It was accepting the Super Bowl ring with all the people who were a part of that.”

Both McCaffrey and Purdy have made strong cases for the award this season as the 49ers hold an 11-3 record following their NFC West win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at State Farm Stadium.

After the win, Purdy’s odds of winning the award rose to +200, behind him are Lamar Jackson (+450) and Dak Prescott (+750), via odds provided by our partner PointsBet.

However, the 49ers’ second-year quarterback called for McCaffrey to win the award after another big performance in Arizona.

“I think Christian should be the best player,” Purdy said after the game. “I really believe that. He does everything for us. He runs the ball well, he can catch the ball, he does everything. In my opinion, this is the best player.”

Brady doesn’t think Trent Williams will win the MVP award, but he would like to see the 49ers’ star offensive tackle receive some sort of recognition for his “incredible” contributions to the offensive line.

“Yes, if I had my vote, Brock would be the best player, and Trent would be second in line,” McCaffrey said.

In his first season since retiring from the game, Brady was voted NFL Player of the Year. While he believed McCaffrey was the favorite to win the award, McCaffrey tried to change his mind.

“Are you? Well, vote for Brock, man. This guy deserves it, man,” McCaffrey said. “I know you obviously respect that. He’s been unbelievable for this team and I hate when I hear people say anything negative, ‘Oh, he’s just a quarterback.’ Everyone is the system’s quarterback. That’s part of being a midfielder in my eyes. I mean I don’t know much about this position. I try to stay in my lane and just try to get open and block and do all the other things. But I mean, when you play in a system that’s all you can ask for. And then sometimes you make plays outside of the X and O and that’s all he does all year. So he gets my vote.”

“I think that’s why football is the best game on the planet, because you don’t have to be a talker. You don’t have to be a speech guy before the game. It doesn’t matter what you do or what you say, all that matters is the silent tape. And when you “Playing the tape the next day, you can tell who loves you, and that’s the biggest example of love when someone does something selfless for you and asks for nothing in return. It happens all over the football field all the time with these good teams.”

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