We’re coming up to that point of the year when the Most Valuable Player in the League will be crowned. This year there isn’t a consensus clear-cut candidate, there are just several outstanding players who have a claim to it. Among all the players who are deserving of such an award, there is one obvious wrong answer of who should NOT get it:

Todd Gurley.

Yes, the Rams running back is an outstanding player. But you are 1,000% out of your mind if you think he should be the MVP of this year. If he wins, he will be the least deserving MVP in the 21^st century. The only reason why any of us are suggesting he should be MVP is because he had two phenomenal games late. Those of us thinking that are suffering from recency bias. Two great games do not make an MVP. Now, to all of you screaming at your screen saying “Kole, YOU’RE the crazy one! He had a great season! He was the best running back this year!” I say:

Cool. He probably was. Who cares? It does not matter, nor should it. I'll tell you why...

1. He does not stack up compared to other MVP running backs

First off, let’s begin by assessing the MVP seasons of Adrian Peterson, LaDainian Tomlinson, Shaun Alexander and Marshall Faulk, we see that there is a bit of a precedent for awarding a running back with this award: the season must be a major record breaking/historic/utterly dominating one. Gurley’s 2017 was none of those. Gurley finished with 2,093 total yards and 19 total touchdowns. That’s good, but not MVP good. Let’s discuss.

• Marshall Faulk accumulated 2,189 yards and 26 total touchdowns. Arguably the one on this list closest to not meeting my persona criticism of running backs. However, Faulk still ended with more rushing yards, receiving yards, and touchdowns than Gurley. How can you say Gurley should be the MVP when he doesn’t even compare statistically to one?
• Shaun Alexander took home the award by setting the then-NFL record for rushing touchdowns in a single season at 27, with 9 more receiving ones on only 15 catches. To accumulate 36 touchdowns in a single season is mind-boggling. Certainly a hell of a lot more impressive than 19. In terms of rushing alone, it's no competition either. Alexander also had 5.1 yards per carry, and averaged 117.5 rushing yards per game en route to 1,880 yards for the 2005 season. Again, all more impressive than Gurley's 4.7 YPC, 87 YPG, and 1,305 total rushing yards.
• LaDainian Tomlinson broke Alexander’s rushing touchdown record the very next season with 28. LT broke/set a record that was set/broken only the year before, plowing his way into NFL history. LT's rushing totals were similar to Alexander's as well, but with a slightly better YPC at 5.2.
• Adrian Peterson finished 2012 as the seventh 2,000-yard rusher in NFL history and eight whole yards short of the single-season rushing record with 2,097 yards. Peterson finished with four more yards on the ground than Gurley did rushing and receiving combined.

2. Gurley doesn't even stand out from other running backs

I’ve established that Gurley’s 2017 doesn’t hold a candle to the past running back MVP’s, but what about for other running backs? Last year David Johnson of the Cardinals amassed 2,118 total yards and 20 touchdowns. LeGarrette Blount led the League in 2016 with 18 rushing touchdowns. How many MVP votes did they get? Certainly not enough to win, and in Blount’s case how many of you were saying he should have been it last year? What about Le’Veon Bell this year? Bell had 1,291 rushing yards compared to Gurley’s 1,305. Bell had 655 receiving yards compared to Gurley’s 788. Bell had 9 rushing touchdowns after missing the entire offseason and Gurley had 13. So you’re going to tell me the difference between an MVP is 14 rushing yards, 133 receiving yards and four rushing touchdowns? Really? Shoot, what about Jamaal Charles in 2013? Charles had almost identical numbers to Gurley and not one person considered him an MVP candidate that year.

3. "Valuable" doesn't mean "best"

My biggest pet peeve in all of sports is the fact that the media and fans conflate the words valuable and best. Valuable means you are nearly irreplaceable, and that your team would utterly collapse without you. (I.e. Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson) You can be the best at your position, help improve your team, but still have the team be able to go on without you. Case in point, Rob Gronkowski. Gronk’s the best tight end in NFL history but the Patriots still won a Super Bowl without him last year, and made it to another this year with him sidelined in the AFC title game. Don’t get me wrong, Gurley helps the Rams. Great players tend to do that. But this Rams team is very talented across the board. Losing Gurley would not cause Los Angeles to fall of the rails. Under the leadership of Sean McVay, their defense, and deep receiving corps, this team should still be competing for the playoffs with or without Gurley.

4. Running backs are not the most valuable position in football

As great as running backs are, and as useful as it is to have a dominant running game, they are still not the most important cog in the machine that is a football team. That would be the quarterback. Far and away the most valuable position in football, one could even make the case it’s the most valuable position in all of sports, period. You can win with a great quarterback and a decent-to-below-average running back. Just look at the Patriots or Packers over the years. It is impossible to win long-term without a franchise quarterback. Gurley had a similar year in terms of rushing stats in 2015, yet the Rams were 7-9 because of inept quarterback play.

5. Gurley isn't even the most valuable person on the Rams' team

Gurley had 1,100 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2015, and 800+ yards and 6 touchdowns in 2016. The Rams were a combined 11-21 in that two-year stretch. Gurley was playing great, but how much did that matter for the Rams? Then, in comes Sean McVay as head coach this year and suddenly the League’s most anemic offense becomes the highest scoring unit in 2017. The Rams went from basement dwellers to 11-5 and division champions in one season under McVay. Gurley had great years without McVay and the Rams couldn’t do anything. With McVay he has another great year. What’s the constant here? McVay also helped make Jared Goff play like a serviceable quarterback instead of a bust like we all thought he was. To those saying he made Goff better, I will counter that this is a two-way street. Yes, anyone who knows anything about football realizes a strong running game helps quarterbacks out. But having a viable signal-caller ensures that the running back never faces a stacked box, allowing him the freedom to run. In fact, his 2016 was down compared to 2015 because the quarterback play was noticeably worse in that year than in 2015.

Look, I realize that Todd Gurley is a great player. Maybe the best and most complete back in the League. He’s a very talented player and I am not arguing for anything that contradicts that claim. But to say he is the most valuable player in the League for 2017? That’s just nuts when you really break it down and give it context.