NFL: Detroit Lions at Kansas City Chiefs
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We are seeing some familiar names atop the NFL odds menu in the always-popular MVP race, led by two-time winner Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs and Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who won the coveted hardware last year for the first time in his career. Is a chalk play the way to go, or do any longshots still have a chance?

As we head into Week 7, let's take a look at the 2025 NFL MVP odds from DraftKings. We'll give our feedback and suggested plays for this NFL futures wager.

The top 10 MVP candidates are, predictably, all quarterbacks. Mahomes is priced at +175 (risk 100 to win $175), followed by Allen (+300), Baker Mayfield (+300), Drake Maye (+1600), Matthew Stafford (+1600), Jared Goff (+1600), Justin Herbert (+2000), Jordan Love (+2000), Lamar Jackson (+3000) and Jayden Daniels (+3500).  

Chalk to back

Allen (+300): Mahomes is understandably the favorite, seeing as he has endured the suspension to top receiver Rashee Rice and a Week 1 injury to Xavier Worthy, a meager rushing attack and inconsistent defense to still put up excellent numbers (1,511 yards, 11 TDs, two INTs) and position the Chiefs for another run at the AFC title. Even though they are 3-3, the losses have come by 12 combined points, Rice returns this week and a manageable schedule awaits. We just don't think there's enough value on Mahomes' price to merit a wager.

As such, we'll back the reigning winner Allen as the chalk play.  The Bills hit a rough patch before their bye week with two straight losses but, similar to the Chiefs, have a manageable stretch run and Allen should again thrive. The winner of his head-to-head matchup against Mahomes on Nov. 2 likely becomes the MVP front-runner. Considering Allen is 4-1 against Mahomes in the regular season and the Bills have home-field advantage in this matchup, this could be the best price we see on Allen for the remainder of the season.

Chalk to avoid

Mayfield (+300): Everyone's new favorite player is the lunch-pal carting, trash-talking vagabond who appeared close to being out of the league a couple years ago but now appears capable of throwing for 300 yards and three touchdowns no matter the depth-chart rank of his target. He's for sure a fun watch on one of the NFL's most entertaining teams, but we can't see him getting handed the hardware unless he's the beneficiary of voter fatigue on the other candidates. A potentially multi-interception game and double-digit loss could be in the works Monday night against the Lions, and the schedule also includes upcoming visits to Buffalo and the Los Angeles Rams. We just have a hard time seeing Mayfield staying in this race unless the Bucs end up with the best record in the NFC and the signal-caller maintains his blistering numbers.  

Longshot to back 

Jackson (+3000): The Ravens' season began to unravel when Jackson was injured in the first half of a 37-20 Week 4 loss to the Chiefs to drop to 1-3. Although there's no doubt that an injury-plagued defense is largely responsible for the Ravens sitting at 1-5, it's worth noting they have scored just 13 combined points in the two full games Jackson has missed. The two-time MVP appeared sure to challenge for the award again before going down and, believe it or not, a path to contention still exists. He is expected to return after the Week 7 bye, ideally along with some defensive muscle. From Weeks 8-15, the Steelers are the only opponent on the schedule who currently hold a winning record. Jackson could put up massive numbers and, should the Ravens somehow overtake the Steelers in the AFC North, he would surely gain some MVP consideration.