Fantasy Football Awards – Top 5 MVP Candidates

The NFL MVP Award might be the most debated in all of sports. There isn’t a clear-cut criteria when determining who should win the award. Some believe it should go to the best player on the top NFL team. Meanwhile, others think the award should go to the player whose team would struggle the most without him. Regardless of how you feel about the award, the winner this year will be Lamar Jackson.

Unfortunately, the fantasy football MVP award also lacks a clear-cut standard. Should the award go to the best overall fantasy performer or the player on the most championship-winning teams? Some think the award belongs to the player with the best fantasy value based on draft cost.

Fantasy Football MVP Candidates from 2023

You can argue that the criteria is the same as the waiver wire pickup of the year winner. However, the player doesn’t have to go undrafted in most leagues to win the fantasy football MVP award.

I view the award in that light – the player who had the most fantasy value based on draft cost. Therefore, Christian McCaffrey won’t make this list as a first-round fantasy football pick this season. Furthermore, I excluded quarterbacks like Dak Prescott and Brock Purdy. Quarterbacks are streamable, making their fantasy value limited compared to other positions.

Let’s get right into it. Here are my top five fantasy football MVP award candidates from the 2023 NFL season.

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5) Sam LaPorta, TE, Detroit Lions

Tight ends rarely turn into fantasy football contributors during their rookie season. However, that trend has changed lately. Sam LaPorta wasn’t even the first rookie tight end drafted this year. Yet, he finished the 2023 season as the TE1, averaging 11.5 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. The former Iowa star was consistently drafted in the final rounds of fantasy football drafts as a TE2.

LaPorta didn’t massively outperform most tight ends, but he averaged 4.4 more fantasy points per game than fellow rookie Dalton Kincaid. However, the rookie averaged more than twice as many fantasy points per game as popular mid-round selection Pat Freiermuth (11.5 vs. 5.1). More importantly, he wasn’t the top-targeted tight end.

The former Iowa star ranked fifth in the NFL among tight ends with 120 targets. LaPorta finished second on the Lions in targets, averaging 3.2 fewer per game than Amon-Ra St. Brown. While the rookie had some down weeks, he was massive during the fantasy playoffs, averaging 13.8 fantasy points per game.

4) Nico Collins, WR, Houston Texans

My favorite sleeper wide receiver entering the 2023 season was Collins. The former Michigan star showed star potential in his first two years in the NFL. Unfortunately, he was held back by Davis Mills and an awful passing attack. However, Collins flashed massive upside in 2022 when given an opportunity. Thankfully, the arrival of C.J. Stroud and offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik turned the young wide receiver into a fantasy star.

The former Michigan star was the WR9 this season, averaging 14.7 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. Collins had a higher fantasy points per game average than several superstar wide receivers, including Mike Evans (14.3), Deebo Samuel (14.2), A.J. Brown (13.6), Ja’Marr Chase (13.3), and Stefon Diggs (13). The third-year player had eight receiving touchdowns, the seventh-most among wide receivers, more than double his career total entering the year.

More importantly, Collins is Stroud’s clear-cut No. 1 wide receiver in the nine games he and Tank Dell each played at least 48% of the snaps. The former Michigan star had a higher target share (20.5% vs. 18.7%), target per route run rate (26% vs. 24%), and first-read target share (26.4% vs. 21.2%) than the rookie wide receiver (per Fantasy Points Data). Furthermore, Collins was outstanding over the final three weeks of the regular season, averaging 18 fantasy points per game.

3) Raheem Mostert, RB, Miami Dolphins

While many debated who should be the RB1 during the preseason, no one expected Mostert to have the year he did in 2023. The veteran was the RB2, averaging 17 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. He played a massive role in an explosive Miami offense this season, totaling 21 offensive touchdowns. Mostert led the league in offensive scores despite missing the final two contests.

Unlike most running backs in fantasy football, the veteran had a breakout year past his age-28 season. Mostert scored 255.2 fantasy points this year, accounting for 36.7% of his career total. By comparison, he scored 439.9 fantasy points in his career entering the 2023 season, never scoring more than 158.2 in any year. More importantly, the veteran was a consistent must-start running back for fantasy players.

Mostert scored double-digit fantasy points in 80% of the games, including five consecutive contests to end the regular season. Yet, he had over 100 rushing yards in a game only twice all year. However, the veteran running back had a touchdown in all but three games this year after finding the end zone in under 25% of the contests in his career entering the 2023 season. Mostert easily outperformed his preseason expectations, especially since many experts had him ranked outside their top 36 running backs.

2) Kyren Williams, RB, Los Angeles Rams

The Rams entered the 2023 season with Cam Akers as their starting running back. While he was a polarizing fantasy football pick, no one thought Williams would become a star in his second year in the NFL. The former Notre Dame running back was a popular waiver wire target after scoring two rushing touchdowns in Week 1. However, others were skeptical since he averaged only 3.5 yards per rushing attempt in that game.

Hopefully, fantasy players chased the touchdown production because Williams never handed back the featured role. He scored 25 half-point PPR fantasy points in Week 2, leading to Los Angeles trading away Akers. The second-year player was the RB6 in 2023, averaging 19.9 fantasy points per game despite missing four contests with a high ankle sprain. Christian McCaffrey was the only running back to average more fantasy points per game than Williams this year.

More importantly, fantasy players quickly realized they could put the former Notre Dame star in their RB1 slot and forget about it every week. Williams was one of the most consistent running backs in fantasy football, scoring 12.8 or more fantasy points in all but two games. He had more games with over 22 fantasy points (four) than under 16.3 (three). The only reason Williams doesn’t take home the award is because of his teammate.

1) Puka Nacua, WR, Los Angeles Rams

We have reached the No. 1 spot on the list and the fantasy football MVP award winner. Nacua got some last-minute preseason hype heading into the end of draft season. However, the rookie wide receiver didn’t get drafted in most leagues. The former BYU wide receiver started his NFL career with a bang, totaling 10 receptions on 15 targets for 119 receiving yards and 16.9 half-point PPR fantasy points in Week 1.

While many said it was a one-week fluke and to sell right away in dynasty leagues, Nacua proved everyone wrong the following week. He had 15 receptions on 20 targets for 147 receiving yards and 22.6 fantasy points. While the rookie had a few poor performances, the former BYU receiver ended his rookie year as the WR4, averaging 14.5 fantasy points per game.

Nacua broke two rookie receiving records. His 105 receptions broke Jaylen Waddle’s record from 2021, while his 1,486 receiving yards broke Bill Groman’s record from 1960. The rookie wide receiver stepped up and replaced Cooper Kupp as Matthew Stafford’s best wide receiver. He averaged 13.2 fantasy points per game with the veteran wide receiver playing. Nacua won the award over Kyren Williams because he didn’t miss any time with injuries despite taking several massive hits.

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