Super Bowl 52: Don't be surprised if one of these players is named MVP over Brady, Foles

In the history of the Super Bowl there have been only five players to receive the game’s Most Valuable Player trophy more than once, and all of them are quarterbacks. Tom Brady, of course, is on the list, along with Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana and Eli Manning. In fact, Brady, in winning his fourth MVP award last year, broke a tie with Montana and now holds the record outright.

But if he's denied a fifth when the Patriots take on the Eagles on Feb. 4, and if fellow quarterback Nick Foles doesn't win the award, either, who leads the pack?

Keep in mind, the award has been won by a quarterback more often than not. In 51 games, the trophy has been given to the winning team's quarterback 28 times, and seven of the last 10 seasons. The three non-QBs over the past 10 years? That would be Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes, Seahawks linebacker Malcolm Smith and Broncos linebacker Von Miller.

There's precedent for Brady not walking away with the hardware all the time and it happened against, interestingly, the Eagles in Super Bowl 39. In the aftermath of that 24-21 Patriots victory, speedy 5-9 receiver Deion Branch earned the honors with an 11-reception, 133-yard performance as Brady’s top target.

Given that context, Patriots wide receiver Brandin Cooks is a 5-10 speedster who is very much capable of putting forth a similar performance. Cooks had six receptions for 100 yards in New England's 24-20 AFC championship victory over the Jaguars on Sunday. Don't underestimate wide receiver Danny Amendola, tight end Rob Gronkowski, kicker Stephen Gostkowski or running back Dion Lewis, either.

As for the Eagles, their run to Super Bowl 52 has been fueled partly by their defense in the wake of Carson Wentz's season-ending knee injury. Philadelphia has forced 10 turnovers in five games since losing its star QB. If an Eagles victory over the Pats comes as the result of another dominant defensive performance, don't be surprised if veteran cornerback Patrick Robinson is a catalyst.

He led the Eagles with four interceptions in the regular season and made his mark on the NFC championship game with a 50-yard interception return for a TD. If he's able to disrupt the Patriots' offense in a similar manner, expect Robinson to be in the MVP conversation.
U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis will play host to Super Bowl 52, with a kickoff time of 6:30 p.m. ET