It’s that time of the year again—not the 4th of July, but the NFL pre-season predictions. Each season brings its own injuries, drama, and fairytale stories, making it tough to predict the Most Valuable Player. You can still place your bets on the quarterbacks, as they are usually the frontrunners. Like the defending MVP Lamar Jackson, who is tied on odds with Jordan Love and Jalen Hurts at FanDuel Sportsbook. But then there are always the dark horses—the surprise packages—we want to root for.

Speaking on the First Take, ESPN analyst Chris Carlin shared his list of the top four dark horses to win the 2024 MVP. He argued that this Green Bay Packers protégé has outgrown his mentor and is now the No. 1 pick. If you haven’t guessed, Love is the protégé, and Aaron Rodgers is the mentor.

Carlin’s argument was straightforward. He said, “No. 1 is an easy one for me. It is a layup, Jordan Love. Last 8 regular season games, 18 touchdowns, and one interception.” Love had an amazing breakthrough season with the Packers. He threw for 4,159 yards and 32 touchdowns, with just 11 interceptions, in his first season as the starter for one of the league’s franchises.

Although he went missing for the first three years of his Green Bay career after being acquired from Utah State in 2020, Love showed why he was seen as Rodgers’ heir when he took center stage in 2023. But was Carlin right in not mentioning the New York Jets QB? The analyst’s rest of the predictions looked like this: at No. 2, it was Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott. At No. 3, he picked Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford. And to complete the list, the No. 4 dark horse pick was Cowboys LB Micah Parsons.

It’s hard to forecast an MVP as it is, but picking a non-quarterback is just inviting someone to question your opinion. That’s because the last time a non-quarterback won the MVP was when running back Adrian Peterson won it in 2012. The retired football player turned analyst, Sam Acho, was quick to call out Carlin with a smooth rebuttal. “Hotch-potch is the word that comes to mind. I don’t understand the list,” he said.

As for Rodgers, we get that he’s 40 now and has just recovered from an Achilles rupture that sidelined him for almost all of last season’s action. While an argument can be made for skipping his name, he’s still a veteran—a 4-time MVP who has spent 18 seasons with the Packers and is a Super Bowl winner.

Can Jordan Love guide the Packers to glory?

Imagine being under the tutelage of someone like him. You’ll not be anything less than what Jordan Love was. He was over the moon when the Packers acquired him as the 26th overall pick in 2020. “I’m already knowing I can learn a lot from Aaron Rodgers. I’m excited to be able to come back behind him and learn as much as I can,” he said on the draft telecast.

Rodgers was 36 back then, and it was clear that Love would be his understudy. Why? There has been this Packers’ pattern. Hall of Famer Brett Favre was 35 when AR was taken 24th in 2005, and only 3 years later, in 2008, he became the starter.

Here’s an interesting stat comparison for you all.

This clearly shows how much ground the Packers’ jersey No. 10 needs to cover to reach Rodgers’ MVP level. Even though J. Love had more passing yards last year than Rodgers did in 2021, he had one extra game. However, Carlin’s No. 1 dark horse pick sure is on the right track if we go by the numbers of both players’ first seasons as starters.

But is this number enough to say that he is going to be the 2024 MVP? Many Packers fans would love to agree with Carlin on this one. But if it will be enough for the ‘Go Pack Go’ army to sing the glory chant, only time will tell.