Two Super Bowl MVP value bets to make
More often than not, Super Bowl MVP honors are going to go to the winning team's quarterback, with 16 of the past 25 winners being quarterbacks.
That would certainly explain why the two favorites are Patrick Mahomes and Brock Purdy, but interestingly, despite being favorites to win, Purdy (+225) is behind Mahomes (+125) to win MVP. That suggests some value on the San Francisco end especially, and of course, we'd like to look down the ladder on Kansas City for good measure.
Of the non-QB winners over the past 25 seasons, we've seen five wide receivers, three linebackers, and one cornerback.
Prior to the conference championships, we broke down a few options of intrigue, settling on Christian McCaffrey and Travis Kelce from these two teams. Both are still solid bets that we like quite a bit, but we'd prefer to explore some new options right now.
Odds are courtesy of FanDuel. We'd recommend some light wagers here should you choose to join, something in the .2u range.
Deebo Samuel (+3300)
Despite playing through a shoulder injury, Deebo Samuel still accounted for 96 yards of offense in the NFC Championship, second only to Christian McCaffrey.
Samuel can pile up yards both through the air and on the ground, and that dual-threat ability could be the path to a massively productive day.
The Chiefs have allowed a touchdown to a WR in all three postseason games up to this point, headlined by Zay Flowers piling up 115 yards and a score on five catches last week.
To win this award, Samuel most definitely needs to find some touchdowns, and considering he has three multiple-TD games since the beginning of December, there's no denying he's shown he can do it.
If Samuel can say, catch one touchdown and rush in another and go for 150+ total yards (no small ask of course), his case for an MVP win seems quite viable should San Fran beat the Chiefs.
L'Jarius Sneed (+27000)
Now this one is a bit out there, but if we're not betting Mahomes and we already touched on Kelce, the logical next turn has to be to the Kansas City defense, which is a big reason why they're in this game.
L'Jarius Sneed has formed an elite corner duo with Trent McDuffie, and he led the team this season with 14 pass deflections and two interceptions. Sneed also had the play of the day last week against the Ravens, forcing a Zay Flowers at the goal line in what very likely might have been the difference.
Purdy has had some slow starts in these two playoff games and threw a pick last week. If the interceptions start flowing and Sneed is on the receiving end of one in what is a low-scoring affair, there's merit to an MVP vote here.
Again, this is a long shot, but there is a world where this game is say, 20-13, with a few San Francisco turnovers the difference-maker. Should Sneed lead the charge there and shut down one of the 49ers' explosive WRs, he's going to be up for consideration.
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