Jason Kelce is the best player in football this season

Jason Kelce, a center, is the most valuable player on the Philadelphia Eagles. A.J. Brown, a wide receiver, is the second-most valuable player on the Philadelphia Eagles.

Jalen Hurts, the quarterback for the Eagles, is the front-runner to win the NFL’s MVP award.

I like Jalen Hurts. A lot. Ever since he handled his demotion at Alabama with class and dignity, I’ve been a huge fan of his. I hope one day he runs for president of the United States. I’d vote for him.

Nevertheless, 11 games into this NFL season and with the Eagles sporting a league-leading 10-1 record, I would not vote for Hurts as MVP. He’s undeserving. He’s not the most valuable player on Philly’s offense, let alone the team.

The Hurts-for-MVP hype train will likely peak this week, following Philly’s 37-34 overtime victory over the Bills. Hurts accounted for five touchdowns — three passing and two rushing.

But Jason Kelce is the man driving Philly’s dominant season. Kelce triggers the most unstoppable offensive weapon in sports since the NCAA banned Kareem Abdul-Jabbar from dunking the basketball and forced him to perfect the skyhook. Philadelphia’s “tush push” is football’s skyhook. It’s so unstoppable that there are calls to ban it.

The “tush push” is a short-yardage quarterback sneak that is powered by Kelce’s unique ability to burrow like a rabbit. The Eagles convert a little more than 90% of their third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 situations. The rest of the league — the teams without Kelce — convert 68% of their attempts. It’s a huge advantage for Philly. The Eagles basically start every series at first-and-9 rather than first-and-10.

Jason Kelce gives Philly a huge strategic advantage over its opponents. That’s value. He’s the most valuable player in football this season.

Unfortunately, he has no chance at winning MVP because the award favors quarterbacks and groupthink. The quarterback on the NFL team with the best record is always considered a heavy favorite to win MVP.

As the NFL has cheapened quarterback play with rule changes designed to protect quarterbacks and increase scoring, it’s long past time to eliminate the QB bias in MVP voting.

Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill should be the co-favorite alongside Kelce for MVP. Hill has a chance to finish with 2,000 receiving yards. His explosiveness and speed have made Miami one of the highest-scoring teams in the league and the leader of the AFC East.

Just as Kelce has made Hurts an MVP candidate, Hill has made Miami QB Tua Tagovailoa a betting favorite.

In fact, nine of the top 10 betting favorites for MVP are quarterbacks. San Francisco running back Christian McCaffrey is the lone non-QB to crack the top 10.

How can this be? In a year of substandard quarterback play, why are the quarterbacks still dominating the MVP conversation?

No quarterback is having an MVP-caliber season.

Statistically, San Francisco’s Brock Purdy is having the best season. He leads the NFL in QB rating and QBR. Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys is No. 2 in both categories.

Does anyone believe Purdy is the most valuable player in the league? How about Dak? Buffalo’s Josh Allen has the third-best QBR. Is Allen the MVP?

Let’s return to Jalen Hurts. He’s having the best dual-threat QB season. He’s thrown 18 TDs and 10 interceptions. He’s rushed for 410 yards and 11 touchdowns. He’s averaging 3.6 yards per rushing attempt. Not bad.

But let’s compare the stats to 2015 Cam Newton and 2019 Lamar Jackson, the dual-threat QBs with MVP trophies. In 16 games, Cam tossed 35 TDs and 10 INTs. He rushed for 636 yards and 10 touchdowns. He averaged 4.8 rushing yards per attempt. Cam was a force of nature in 2015. In 16 games, Lamar tossed 36 TDs and six interceptions. He rushed for 1,206 yards and seven touchdowns. He averaged 6.9 yards per rushing attempt. What Lamar did in 2019 will likely never be done again.

What Jalen Hurts is doing isn’t remotely in the same galaxy as Newton and Jackson. Hurts is having a solid season.

Jason Kelce is changing the way football is played. He’s the best center and best offensive lineman in football. Two kickers — Mark Moseley and George Blanda — have been named NFL MVP.

Why not an offensive lineman?