The eventual Super Bowl MVP is often easy to predict long before the game even begins. That’s because superstar players tend to do heroic things on the NFL’s grandest stage. Of the players who have received the prestigious MVP hardware, over half have been quarterbacks (26), and only nine have been defensive players.
It wasn’t difficult to predict that, say, Aaron Rodgers as an MVP winner. Same with Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady (twice), Troy Aikman, or Joe Montana (three times). Of the non-quarterback MVPs, pegging Ray Lewis also wasn’t exactly a challenge before the game.
But who exactly is Malcolm Smith?
We all know who he is, of course, because if you’re reading these football words on the Internet the sport is likely a pretty big deal to you. But the Super Bowl is the one game when football is introduced to a wider, often more casual audience. And to have a relative unknown like Smith named MVP last year was both awesome and odd.
Which led us to thinking about the possibilities for this year’s Malcolm Smith. As I see it, we have three leading candidates.
Brandon LaFell
Remember when Brandon LaFell was a disastrous failure as a second option with the Carolina Panthers? That was last year.
LaFell was a third-round pick in 2010 by the Panthers. The intenion was that after some development he’d first be a fine complementary option opposite Steve Smith, and then LeFell would replace an aging Smith. Neither of those things happened, and after four years he still hadn’t topped the 50-catch mark, and his highest single-season output was 677 yards.
That failure made him the perfect Bill Belichick free agency snatch. Belichick drools while sifting through the scrap heap of both the free agency and trade markets, and his offense was missing a critical weapon.
The Patriots have plenty of slot speed between Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman, and lots of brute force up the middle with Rob Gronkowski. But Tom Brady desperately needed a deep option.
LaFell could be that guy, and although his start was sluggish this season, the end of 2014 certainly wasn’t. LaFell finished with 953 yards, and made his explosive presence known with 11 catches for 124 yards and a touchdown during a Week 8 win over the Chicago Bears.
Luke Willson
The Seahawks often view passing the same as how you and I look at a trip to the dentist. It has to be done, so let’s just get it over with.
During the regular season they attempted a league low 454 passes. When you have Marshawn Lynch tossing humans around whenever he damn well wants to and Russell Wilson rushing for the fifth most yards from a quarterback in single-season history (849), passing takes more than a back seat. It sits in the trunk.
But despite those minimal attempts Wilson still chucked 54 passes for 20-plus yards. The Seahawks finished just outside the top 10 in that category (11th), while the Patriots threw eight fewer long balls even with 155 more attempts.
That’s all vital information for understanding the growing phenomenon that is Luke Willson.
The Canadian tight end was forced into a larger role when Zach Miller was put on injured reserve in November due to an ankle injury. Willson was on the field for only 59.6 percent of the Seahawks’ offensive snaps this season.
Because of that he’s only logged 22 receptions. But seven of them have been of the deep (sometimes really, really deep) variety.
Nearly a third of Willson’s receptions have gone for over 20 yards. His breakout came in Week 16 when the 25-year-old needed only three catches to finish with 139 yards and two touchdowns. Then during a divisional-round win over the Carolina Panthers he had four receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown.
The Patriots often struggled against tight ends throughout the season, giving up an average of 65.6 receiving yards per game, according to Football Outsiders.
LeGarrette Blount
LeGarrette Blount may not be quite as under the radar as Willson and LaFell. But he’s still a textbook Belichick discarded treasure grab after being released by the Pittsburgh Steelers following an arrest for marijuana possession, and then signed by New England in late November.
Blount being the MVP is especially a longshot because of Seattle’s suffocating run defense that allowed only 81.5 rushing yards per game. But the antidote to the Seahawks’ physical front seven is matching that power, much like Jonathan Stewart did during the divisional round when he averaged 5.4 yards per carry.
Blount can be that hammer too, because tackling a 250-pound man is never fun or enjoyable. He’s fresh off a 148-yard performance during the AFC Championship Game, and has averaged 4.6 yards per carry since re-joining the Patriots.
