The NFL regular season continues to wind down with the NFL's MVP race assumed to be between Lamar Jackson and Russell Wilson. While many believe it will be a quarterback to win the award, New Orleans Saints' Sean Payton suggests that Michael Thomas could become the first wide receiver to win MVP.

“It starts with you’ve got to win,” Payton recently told #PFTPM. “Here are the things we know — you’ve got to be a winning team. You’ve got to be, generally speaking, having success and he’s been a huge part of that for us. And then you have to have production, and he’s on pace to have more production at that position than anyone in the history of the game. And, lastly, our Super Bowl champion just had the MVP at receiver, so there’s no reason that can’t happen relative to the length of the season.”

For the Saints, Thomas has hauled in 94 receptions for 1,141 yards and five touchdowns. The fourth-year wide receiver is on pace to finish the season with 150 receptions, which would surpass Marvin Harrison's single-season record of 143 receptions.

Over the course of history, the MVP trophy is typically given to a quarterback. To be exact, 12 out of the last 15 winners of the award were of the quarterback variety. But it helps Thomas that his starting quarterback missed five games and he was still able to produce at a high level.

Despite his historic play on the field, Thomas' name has seldom been mentioned in the conversation for MVP. As unlikely as it may be, Thomas is putting together a season that warrants him being the first wide receiver in NFL history to win the MVP award.