Can a receiver be NFL MVP? Justin Jefferson (and others) want to know

The Associated Press' 50-member selection committee will choose the 23^rd NFL MVP of the millennium come Jan. 11.

Sorry, Justin Jefferson, but a quarterback is expected to win. Again.

A quarterback has won 18 of the past 22 MVPs, including 14 of the past 15, with Vikings running back Adrian Peterson in 2012 being the last non-QB to win.

Quarterbacks' stranglehold on the honor and Jefferson's hot pursuit of the league's first 2,000-yard receiving season on a Vikings team that's 12-3 prompted esteemed longtime NFL reporter, Hall of Fame selector and Power Poll NFL senior correspondent Rick Gosselin to pose two questions to the 1,400 members who vote in that new website's weekly NFL poll.

The members come from the media (including this reporter), the coaching ranks, agents, the players' union, NFL headquarters, team management and ownership, and more.

The first question asked what the criteria for the "MVP" should be: A, Most Valuable Player to his team; B, Most Outstanding Player in the league; C, Best quarterback.

Of the 222 members who responded, including this reporter, 72 said it should be the most valuable player to his team; 67 said it should be the most "outstanding" player in the league; and two said just give it to the best quarterback.

When Jerry Rice caught a record 22 touchdown passes in 12 games during the strike-shortened 1987 season, a quarterback won MVP. When Eric Dickerson ran for a record 2,103 yards in 1984, a quarterback won. When Randy Moss broke Rice's record with 23 touchdown catches in 2007, Tom Brady got 49 votes and Brett Favre got the other vote.

The award began in 1957. Two defenders have won – the Vikings' Alan Page in 1971 and the Giants' Lawrence Taylor in 1986. A kicker, Washington's Mark Moseley, won it in 1982. But a receiver has never won.

This prompted Gosselin's second poll question: If Jefferson reaches 2,000 yards, should he finish first, second, third or out of the top three in MVP voting? Jefferson received 28 votes for MVP, 43 for runner-up, 99 for third and 52 for out of the top three.

"Jefferson would be my MVP," said Bill Bender of the Sporting News. "He is having a fantastic individual season, which he set the tone for in Week 1 against Green Bay [184 yards] and added a signature game against Buffalo [193 yards]. He also is on a team that won several close games this season. He's been an impactful player."

Said Jeffrey Kerr of CBSSports.com: "Cooper Kupp arguably had as dominant a season last year as Justin Jefferson this year. And he only got a single vote behind Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady. It's a quarterback award now."

MVP voters have cast 1,200 ballots since 1998. Five have gone to receivers. Four to Moss when he set the rookie record of 17 receiving touchdowns and one to Kupp when he led the league in receptions, receiving yards and touchdown catches for a Rams team that won the Super Bowl.

What say you, Justin?

"I think the MVP should be considered to everybody in the league," said the guy who leads the NFL in receptions (123) and receiving yards (1,756) and is fifth in receiving touchdowns (eight) on a 12-3 team that's already won the NFC North heading into Sunday's game at Green Bay.

"I feel like if another position is having a great season — not saying just me, any other position — I feel like they should be considered."

Vikings offensive coordinator Wes Phillips was a position coach with the Rams last year, so he's had a front-row seat to two of the best seasons by a receiver in NFL history.

Asked if he thought a receiver could win MVP, he said, "I doubt it.

"You know, just the way the league is and how much this game is dependent on quarterback play. … If you set a [receiving] record, maybe you have a chance to do something no one else has done. But there's always going to be that top class of quarterbacks that are throwing for however many yards and however many, 40, 50 touchdowns and they're just so highlighted in this game. And it is a difficult position to play well, and not many do it. I think it would be hard for a receiver to ever get it."