Buffalo Bills: AJ McCarron seen as a dark horse MVP candidate

A recent NFL Spin Zone article looked at potential dark horse MVP candidates for each team and the choice for the Buffalo Bills may surprise some fans.

The Buffalo Bills don’t have a starting quarterback right now but each and every Bills fan has a favorite.

Those who want AJ McCarron to start will like a recent NFL Spin Zone piece that selected him as the dark horse MVP candidate for the Bills in 2018.

From the article, written by Dan Parzych:

"Assuming the Buffalo Bills allow Josh Allen to learn from the sidelines as a rookie, AJ McCarron will finally be looking to prove himself worthy of being a starter in the NFL after spending all of those years as a backup to Andy Dalton. Sticking around with the Cincinnati Bengals only would have hurt McCarron’s chances of ever starting since Dalton isn’t going away anytime soon, but living up to the hype is always easier said than done."

I can’t argue with this pick. Personally, I think whoever lines up at quarterback is the top dark horse MVP candidate. The obvious choice for MVP is LeSean McCoy, given he isn’t suspended, but the quarterback will play a huge role in the team’s success or failure this season.

The best case scenario is that McCarron wins the job easily and proves that he always deserved the chance to lead a team. He comes out and gets the Bills back to the postseason and is hailed a hero. The worst case scenario for him is that he doesn’t get the chance to start and is labeled a career backup. He may not even remain in Buffalo to start the season if he isn’t named the starter.

As for another dark horse MVP candidate, Kelvin Benjamin could be a key piece in 2018. If he stays healthy and is able to be a reliable target for whoever lines up under center, he would earn himself an extension and become a focal point of the offense in Buffalo.

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If he has a bad season, the team may be looking to start over at wide receiver in 2019. They sure have the draft capital to do just that.