As the NFL season trends toward the postseason, the race in the standings isn’t the only close-contested competition. The jury is still out on the 2018 NFL MVP, with a number of worthy players topping the NFL prop betting boards.

Here’s a look at the favorites – and some potential sleepers – to win Most Valuable Player.

Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs (EVEN)
The Chiefs second-year gun slinger has exploded on to the scene with his devil-may-care play under center. Mahomes has sparked Kansas City to a 9-1 mark, covering in all but two of those games. Mahomes is on pace to break passing record, putting up 3,150 yards passing and 31 touchdowns through the first 10 games.

Perhaps the biggest knocks against Mahomes is the bounty of skilled players around him, giving him great weapons on the ground and through the air, and the fact that there is still six more games to go. Kansas City has a bad habit of falling apart down the stretch and failing to show up in the playoffs. The Chiefs faces a tough schedule in the final weeks of the season, starting Monday in Los Angeles.

Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints (+150)
It’s incredible that Brees is performing at this level at his age, and the new NFL passing king should really be the favorite to win MVP. But anyone buying Brees at this price is getting a deal. The Saints have been unstoppable since Week 2, riding an eight-game winning streak into this Sunday’s showdown with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Brees has thrown 21 touchdown passes – not having to shoulder the scoring load like past seasons due to a potent ground game – and has only thrown one interception through the first nine games, owning a QB rating of 123.8 on the season. There’s a tough road ahead for Brees and New Orleans, but if they can capture the NFC’s best record, an MVP honor should follow.

Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams (+600)
There’s a big gap between Gurley and the two top QBs on the NFL MVP board, and we haven’t seen a running back win top honors since Adrian Peterson in 2012 – which was the only RB to win MVP in the last 11 years. Gurley makes a strong case, powering a Rams offense that ranks No. 3 in points per game and topping the league in rushing yards with 1,106 and has found pay dirt 17 times.

Gurley also gets discounted due to the players around him. Quarterback Jared Goff is getting some MVP love as well, priced at +3,000, and L.A. has a bumper crop of receivers to toss to.

Philip Rivers, Los Angeles Chargers (+1,500)
Rivers is a quiet option for MVP, keeping the Chargers hot on the tail of Kansas City in the AFC West. Rivers and the Bolts offense is scoring almost 27 points per game and ride into Week 11 on a six-game winning streak. But, closer inspection of that schedule sees L.A. taking down some softer opponents, with the likes of Oakland, Cleveland, San Francisco and Tennessee on their schedule.

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