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Justin Herbert’s lone MVP voter explains his choice

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Feb 6, 2026 12:28 PM ET

The lone voter who cast a first-place NFL MVP vote for Justin Herbert explained what went into his thought process.

Sam Monson offered an explanation for his decision to cast his vote for Herbert instead of eventual winner Matthew Stafford or runner-up Drake Maye. Monson focused on the “value” aspect of the award and argued that Herbert did more with less than Stafford or Maye did.

“The guy had the worst offensive line in the NFL all season and despite that he was working miracles in almost every single game,” Monson said of Herbert. “Stafford’s OL became 2/5ths as bad as Herbert’s for 5 minutes and he became a turnover howitzer. He embodied ‘value.'”

I was the Justin Herbert vote.

The guy had the worst offensive line in the NFL all season and despite that he was working miracles in almost every single game.

Stafford's OL became 2/5ths as bad as Herbert's for 5 minutes and he became a turnover howitzer.

He embodied 'value'.
— Sam Monson (@SamMonsonNFL) February 6, 2026

In another post, Monson said Stafford and Maye were both deserving MVP candidates, but neither overwhelmingly deserved to win the award, and he felt that Herbert also deserved consideration.

Herbert threw for 3,727 yards with 26 touchdowns and 13 interceptions for the Chargers on the season. Stafford’s numbers were overwhelmingly superior with 4,707 yards, 46 touchdowns, and eight picks. Maye was also superior in all three statistical categories.

Monson’s vote would have gone largely unnoticed had the voting not been so close. Stafford beat Maye by five voting points and one first-place vote. If Monson’s ballot was different, Maye could have easily won the award, and that is made even more notable by the fact that Herbert did not even finish in the top five overall.

This is hardly the first time a single MVP ballot drew scrutiny, though in the past it has been because of glaring errors made by the voter. Monson meant to do what he did, like it or not.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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