Saints quarterback Derek Carr listed as dark horse MVP candidate for 2023

Hopes are high for the new starting quarterback of the New Orleans Saints, with some in NFL circles thinking the sky is the limit for him and the Saints.

To say the hopes of New Orleans Saints fans are high as it pertains to Derek Carr would be an understatement. How could they not be? He was brought in as the first real "splash" signing of the 2023 NFL offseason, with the Saints and their fans hoping he is the answer to their quarterback questions since the retirement of Drew Brees.

While the wish for the Saints and their fans may be that Carr is serviceable, others are thinking higher.

Adam Schein of NFL.com recently published his list of five dark-horse MVP candidates, with Carr checking in as the second name mentioned. The rest of the list included Dak Prescott at the top, with Ta taovalloa, Deshaun Watson, and Justin Jefferson trailing Carr.

Schein is high on both Carr and the Saints, and he isn't alone, with the likes of Pro Football Focus joining his optimism. He even went as far to name the Saints his Cinderella team for 2023, and in his bold predictions said that there's a path for the Saints to secure the number one seed in the NFC.

While all of these expectations are lofty, and we need to take things one day at a time, it is in a weird way comforting to see that folks outside of the Saints building and their fan base are thinking in ways some would call "irrational" about the team and their new starting quarterback.

The New Orleans Saints certainly have the supporting cast to aid Carr, who when he did have a decent ecosystem with the Raiders, was arguably a gruesome injury away from winning MVP in 2016. If he can regain his top form, and the team is there to prop him up, then maybe these lofty "pipe-dreams" wont seem so crazy in a few months time.