Cam Newton had a breakout year in 2015 and won the NFL’s Most Valuable Player Award in a landslide.  Who will take the crown from Newton for 2016?  We’re going to take a weekly look at how things are shaping up.

1. Jimmy Garoppolo, New England Patriots

Is it the scheme or is it the quarterback?  It’s probably both, but Jimmy G. has been fantastic in relief of Tom Brady.  He adds a mobile dimension to the quarterback position that the team hasn’t had in decades and his pinpoint accuracy has been nothing short of a pleasant surprise.  If Jimmy can’t play this week due to the shoulder sprain he suffered, he will likely drop out of the No. 1 spot, but at this point in the very early part of the 2016 season, Garoppolo is the NFL’s MVP.

2. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers

Big Ben is off to a great start to the 2016 NFL season and he has as much pressure on him as any quarterback does in the NFL.  With the Steelers defense being far from an elite unit, Roethlisberger has to put up significant points on a weekly basis.  So far this year he’s performing at a high level without his best running back in Le’Veon Bell and his second- and third-best receivers in Martavis Bryant and Markus Wheaton.

3. Von Miller, Denver Broncos

It’s difficult, if not impossible for a defensive player to win this award, but Denver’s Von Miller is certainly making a run in the early part of the season.  He leads the best defense in football with the most sacks in the NFL and he’s been a dominant force ever since his rookie season.  Miller’s job became a little more difficult now that DeMarcus Ware will be out for a few weeks.

4. Matt Stafford, Detroit Lions

Even though Stafford and the Lions dropped their game to the Tennessee Titans last week, he’s still been performing at a very high level.  The former No. 1 overall pick is on pace to throw for nearly 5,000 yards with a 4:1 touchdown to interception ratio, which would be the best of his career.  He’s doing all of this without Calvin Johnson, which makes his play all the more impressive.

5. Carson Palmer, Arizona Cardinals

After last season’s horrendous postseason performance, Carson Palmer has come back quite nicely in 2016. He has thrown five touchdowns without an interception and is leading one of the league’s most proficient offenses.  Although he has great weapons at his disposal, Palmer is the trigger man and the team goes as he does.