Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1). Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

NFL futures: Digging into the MVP market five weeks in

It's always a good idea to keep an eye on the futures markets in the NFL. One week can skew the odds so much, but we're getting to a juncture in the season where we can start trusting the sustained success we're seeing.

In an effort to apprise ourselves on the state of the market, MVP is the most logical award to revisit, both who is favored and who might offer some value.

The current favorites

Patrick Mahomes is the current favorite at +450, followed closely by Tua Tagovailoa (+475). Listen, no knock on Mahomes here, winner of two MVPs already, but why is he favored?

Mahomes is currently seventh in yards and sixth in touchdowns, and he's already thrown four interceptions. We get it, the Kansas City Chiefs are 4-1 and likely to be one of the AFC's top seeds, but we're having a hard time backing Mahomes at this price.

Tagovailoa has put up some incredible numbers at the helm of this explosive Miami Dolphins offense. Tagovailoa is leading the league in passing yards with 1,614, and his 11 passing touchdowns are tied for second. The value ship has sailed on the Dolphins passer, however.

Value bets to consider

One has to mention Brock Purdy (+700 DK) here. Consider this writer one not totally convinced that Purdy was a top-end talent as a passer, but there's no denying he looks sharp and in command of the NFL's best team. Both San Fran and Philly are 5-0, but the Niners have looked better doing it.

It would be an outrageous story if Purdy wins MVP in his second year after being drafted last, but there's a very real chance we get there. His yardage is eighth in the league, but his calling card and reason for optimism for this award is his efficiency.

Purdy is completing 72.1% of his passes, second behind only Josh Allen, and he's got a sterling 9:0 TD:INT ratio humming along. If he continues limiting mistakes and getting the ball into the hands of the many playmakers he has at his disposal, his statistics could be mind-boggling by season's end.

We'll less confidently flag Trevor Lawrence (+2200 DK)  as a name to keep an eye on. Lawrence just had his best game of the year in a huge win over Buffalo, and we'd like to see that momentum carry over into a few more games before we dub him a man you need to bet on. However, Lawrence has soft secondaries coming up in Indianapolis and Tennessee twice which should help get those stats up.

We were high on the Jaguars before the season started, and they've now won two straight to move to 3-2. There's a lot of winnable games on the schedule here. If Lawrence can stay mistake free and lead the Jaguars to one of AFC's top seeds, expect shorter odds soon.

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