Preseason MVP Power Rankings

Well, we’ve officially moved from Training Camp to Preseason, and with that, a new name, same gimmick. Who are the stand-out stars in our Preseason MVP Power Rankings that are rocketing their way to the coveted Gerald McCoy trophy? Without further adieu, let’s get into it

Since we have some actual data now we’ve adjusted our model (which for those curious, can be accessed here) so it’s less training camp vibes based and more…. well still mostly vibes based.

5) SAM HOWELL

Are we all sleeping on Sam Howell? I know, I know. I’m getting sucked into the preseason trap but I mean….

9/12, 77 yards, 1 TD, 1 Sack (also had a rush of 8 yards so we’ll offset the sack in our model). Pedestrian? Sure. Better than expected? Sort of? Maybe we just don’t know what to expect out of the Fifth rounder.

NFL.com has him comped to Chase Daniel, The Athletic has him comped to Jalen Hurts, Yahoo – Baker Mayfield, CBS – Russell Wilson.

That’s where we need to start talking about expectation vs reality. Next Gen Stats says Sam Howell will be an average starter eventually. That doesn’t mean year 1 as a starter. They have a whole different category for that. If his expectation is eventually an average starter and he’s an average starter right away hasn’t he exceeded expectations?

You’re probably asking at this point, “What the hell are you talking about?” and the answer is that I’m not sure. I’m really just looking for a reprieve from the pain.

Before you call me a homer, I did rank him below a few guys who literally haven’t played in the preseason.

4) ZACK MARTIN

Something I thoroughly believe about MVP discourse, is that they never seem to involve the guys who do the best job of taking away Jerry Jones’s money.

Zack Martin hasn’t played a snap or run a lap all preseason up until he was given a raise to roughly $18 million a year, despite Jerry Jones claiming there wasn’t any cap space for it. The holdout seemed to be destined to trickle into the season until Jerry balked.

32-Year-Old Zack Martin accrued $1 million in fines while he sat out of training camp, but he got his contract back to a competitive state with the top of the guard market in the NFL.

Martin is one of the top guards in the league and that alone should solidify his position on these power rankings, but at Talent Alone we like to commend players for using their brains over their brawn.

3) BROCK PURDY

I have never been a member of the Brock Flock (note to editor: don’t include that name in the article, I’m still workshopping it), but there’s some subtraction by addition leading to Purdy appearing on the MVP Power Rankings list despite not playing in week 1. Basically, everything we’ve seen the 49ers do at quarterback without Purdy since he took over as a starter hasn’t worked. Albeit, a small sample size.

Trey Lance did not look good. He got sacked twice to start the game, four times over the course of the game (which as we all know, sacks are a QB stat), he looked indecisive and his touchdown pass was…. fortunate.

This wasn’t a great week for the 3rd year passer out of North Dakota State. To add insult to injury, Lance is now fighting to hold onto his BACK-UP role over Sam Darnold.

At least one of the draft picks the Niners traded for Lance didn’t turn into a stud or anything.

If we’re scoring this on a Purdy vs Lance scale it’s currently tipped all the way to Purdy.

2) AIDAN O’CONNELL

Okay simple question, do I believe in Aidan O’Connell? No

O’Connell opened up his NFL Career by going 14/18 for 141 yards and a touchdown. Which on its own, is an ironically Garoppolo-esq stat line, but it’s worth noting that PFF graded two of those incompletions as Wide Receiver drops. So in the end his stat line is more accurately something along the lines of 14/16 141 yards, a touchdown, 2 rushing first downs, and a PFF rating of 92.3

But the thing that I’m hesitant about is that he’s just incredibly boring. Here’s a picture of him.

I’m of course kidding, that isn’t a picture of him. This is:

But you probably didn’t know that did you?

How about this, what college did Aiden O’Connell go to? Seriously. Without looking it up, what college? I’ll wait.

The Answer: Perdue. The most boring college in America. BTW he was the backup for Jack Plummer, who is somehow not related to Jake Plummer.

So Aiden O’Connell is probably off to the best start in the Preseason but He’s going to have to play like a bat out of hell if he wants to be ranked over a guy named Tank.

1) TANK DELL

I mean what? Did my man just score his first NFL touchdown by juggling? Points for the high degree of difficulty on the catch but EXTRA points for not even celebrating after that feat.

This wasn’t just a one-catch performance either. Dell had 5 receptions for 65 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also walked away with a W which is more than some highlight reel hacks can say.

I’m all the way on Team Tank (note to the editor: don’t post that, I’m still workshopping it) and everyone else should be too. Dell is 5-foot-8, 185 pounds and he can’t exactly fly. But he’s just out here putting up week 1 preseason highlights.

Wasn’t even on the board prior to week 1 but it’s starting to look like Tank Dell might be on his way to a Gerald McCoy in his trophy case.

Want to see more Talent Alone Rankings? We’ve been ranking different skill position players on our podcast over here. You can also read the predecessor to the Preseason Power Rankings with our Training Camp Power Rankings.