Todd Gurley will not play in the Rams’ Week 17 game against the 49ers, but if you ask Terrell Davis, Maurice Jones-Drew and James Jones, it doesn’t matter — he’s the NFL MVP regardless.

Davis is uniquely qualified to weigh in on Gurley’s season and what he has meant to the league this year because not only is he a Hall of Fame running back, he’s also a former MVP himself. Davis won the award in 1998 – the same year that he and the Denver Broncos won their second Super Bowl together.

In his MVP season, Davis had 2,225 yards and 23 TDs from scrimmage in 16 games. Compare that to Gurley’s 2,093 yards and 19 TDs from scrimmage in 15 games and you can see why he believes the Rams superstar deserves the nod this season.

Here he is discussing it with the panel on the NFL Network.

“He is [the MVP],” Davis said. “The guy is first in rushing yards, first in rushing touchdowns, first in scrimmage yards, first in scrimmage TDs. He’s on a team where he’s the catalyst. He’s the engine that drives that team. If he’s not on the Rams, I’m not sure where they would be right now.”

Davis goes on to reference the fact that Gurley’s numbers are on par with the guys who have won it as running backs, which of course includes himself as well as Marshall Faulk, Shaun Alexander, LaDainian Tomlinson and Adrian Peterson after him.

Related How Todd Gurley compares to last three running backs to win MVP

Jones-Drew, in agreement with Davis, noted that “every MVP has to have a signature play that they show and that “Todd’s was an 80 yard screen that he took to the house that changed the whole dynamic of the Titans game.”

If you don’t remember the play, you should go ahead and watch it again. It’s definitely one for the career highlight reel.

However the most compelling argument for Gurley’s MVP bid came from the former wide receiver on the panel. Jones, the longtime Green Bay Packer, had been a vocal supporter of Steelers WR Antonio Brown for MVP this season, but admitted that Brown missing the final two and half games removes him from contention.

“I absolutely agree with you, it’s Todd Gurley,” Jones said to the panel. “When he touches the ball 20 times, they’re 9-0. When he doesn’t, they’re 2-4. That tells you everything you need to know. When he touches it, they win.”

There is no better argument to be made for a player to earn the MVP than to prove that they are not just the best player on a good team, but that the team isn’t the same without him. At any point in a game, Gurley is the most important player on the field for the NFC West champion Rams. If he doesn’t deserve it, then who does?