49ers TE George Kittle names his pick for 2023 NFL MVP

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle echoed former Pro Bowler Rob Gronkowski when he told Jori Epstein of Yahoo! Sports on Monday that he'd choose running back Christian McCaffrey over quarterback Brock Purdy to win the MVP Award for the 2023 season. 

"If you want a best quarterback award, make a best quarterback award," Kittle said. "Let's keep the MVP for the most valuable player." 

A quarterback has claimed MVP for each season since running back Adrian Peterson won the award for the 2012 campaign. As of Monday evening, oddschecker listed Purdy as the betting favorite at -175 odds to earn the honor for 2023. To compare, McCaffrey was at +2000 odds at that same time.  

Per Kirk Larrabee of 49ers WebZone, Purdy said after San Francisco's 45-29 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday that he believes McCaffrey should be named MVP for the regular season. Kittle explained that McCaffrey and Miami Dolphins star wide receiver Tyreek Hill are unique weapons who force opponents to "completely change" their defensive plans for games. 

"Your game plan can’t be the same game plan because you have to account for guys who, every time they touch the ball, [it] could be a 70-yard touchdown," Kittle continued. "And yes, the quarterbacks have to give him the ball. And I get that. But the amount of times that Christian or Tyreek has just carried the team and put them on his back and scored touchdowns and won games … how is that not the most valuable player?" 

According to StatMuse, McCaffrey entered Monday evening leading the NFL with 1,801 total offensive yards from scrimmage on the campaign. He's also tied with Miami's Raheem Mostert for the most offensive touchdowns scored this season (20). 

Meanwhile, ESPN stats show that Purdy ended the weekend leading the NFL among qualified players with a 76.0 adjusted QBR, a 119.0 passer rating, an average of 9.9 yards per pass attempt and 29 passing touchdowns on the campaign. 

"I know that the quarterback position is the most important position in sports because if you don't have your quarterback, it's really hard to win football games, and you can see that all over the league this entire season," Kittle added. "However, the MVP should not just be the 'Who's the best quarterback?' award."

Purdy and McCaffrey will next have opportunities to impress MVP voters when the 11-3 49ers host the 11-3 Baltimore Ravens on Christmas night.