Nate Burleson: Calvin Johnson should be in MVP race

Adrian Peterson, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady are the four MVP leaders in the proverbial clubhouse. Detroit Lions wide receiver Nate Burleson says his teammate has been left out of the discussion.

Calvin Johnson broke Jerry Rice's single-season receiving yards record with 1,964 and was just shy of 2,000. Peterson was nine yards shy of Eric Dickerson's rushing record with 2,097.

"If we were winning, say we got to the playoffs, he would definitely be in the conversation," Burleson said on 'NFL AM.' "But the things that Calvin does, he's in the same boat as AP. Everybody knows he's about to get the ball, but he still gets the ball regardless. He's out there getting viced in the slot like he's about to cover a punt. He creates coverages that I haven't seen since playing with Randy Moss."

Megatron had a phenomenal year, but you can't be the NFL MVP with just five touchdowns. The Lions would have won more games if he and Matt Stafford had been more proficient in the end zone.

Burleson's love for Johnson is well-known, but Megatron would have had to shatter every receiving record to be the league MVP on a four-win team.

Follow Kareem Copeland on Twitter @kareemcopeland.