Chris Thompson Is Redskins Midseason MVP!

This week on the SB Nation network, each team site is crowning a midseason team MVP (yes, even the San Francisco 49ers...and I do think Jimmy Garoppolo is eligible). Looking at our 3-4 Redskins, a couple things occur to me:

• I would really like to pick someone who is currently healthy and playing, which narrows the field...considerably. If Jonathan Allen hadn’t lost games, he would at or near the top of the list based on his incredible contribution at such a crucial position. Matt Ioannidis also deserves consideration...in fact a lot of it, but for a defense giving up 30 points per game over its last four games, I wanted to make sure I gave the offense a long look.
• Setting aside offense vs. defense for a moment, a couple names jump off the page because you hear them a lot: Kirk Cousins, Zach Brown, D.J. Swearinger and even Brandon Scherff. The headline already tells you I picked someone else, but these guys have powered our season. Brown’s tackle stats are Fletcher-esque. Swearinger has played safety for the Redskins this season at a level we simply haven’t seen for quite some time. Sure, he got burned a couple times by the Eagles—a lot of players have. On the whole, D.J. has been the leader of our defense in Josh Norman’s absence, and when the unit gets some healthy bodies back again, he will become even more effective (the assumption being he won’t be trying to cover for weak spots on the field). Scherff has been possibly the best guard in the NFL when he has been healthy. Watching him has been a treat.
• Kirk Cousins has played well, but he does not get my vote for MVP, because of the dominating presence of...

Chris Thompson.

In the passing game, CT25 is leading the team in receptions, receiving yards, plays over 20 yards, first downs and Yards After Contact. In the rushing game, Thompson leads all running backs in yards per carry (Kirk does have him beat), first downs (Kirk also leads), and total rushing yards. This means that our guy is the ENGINE for this offense. He gets it done in all facets of the game, and returns kickoffs to boot (please stop putting him back there please).

Jay Gruden’s offense hinges on players like Thompson (remember Gio Bernard in Cincinnati), and Chris has delivered.

I am hard-pressed to think of a Redskins player that is currently more deserving than Chris Thompson to be named midseason MVP, but I know compelling arguments can be made for some of the players listed above.

Make your case!