Jaguars land All-Pro RB Christian McCaffrey in NFL Media's active players mock draft

Trevor Lawrence is the best player on the Jacksonville Jaguars' roster but if they had to build a team from scratch and he or any of the top quarterbacks in the league weren't available, who would they start with? Chad Reuter of NFL Media answered that question in a veteran mock draft he recently put together.

Reuter had all 32 teams mock a veteran and had the Jags going with San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey. In his mock, Reuter had clubs picking in the same slot they had in this year's draft. By virtue of having the 25th selection, Jacksonville wasn't in a position to choose a top quarterback.

Patrick Mahomes went to the Chicago Bears at No. 1 while the Houston Texans selected Joe Burrow with the second overall selection. The Arizona Cardinals landed Josh Allen at No. 3 and Jalen Hurts fell to the Indianapolis Colts at No. 5. The Denver Broncos choose Aaron Rodgers before the Los Angeles Rams selected Lawrence.

Lawrence was the only Jaguar to be drafted in the first or second round. Their pick in Round 2 was defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and they took rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud in the third round.

Christian McCaffrey would give the Jaguars a dynamic weapon on offense

Running backs don't have the same impact they had 30 years ago but a good one can give an extra dimension to the offense. A first-round pick by the Carolina Panthers in the 2017 draft, McCaffrey had a somewhat quiet rookie season but exploded into the NFL scene the next year, tallying 1,965 yards from scrimmage and 13 total touchdowns. But he was just getting started.

McCaffrey was even better in 2019. That year, he racked up 2,392 yards from scrimmage, scored 19 total touchdowns, and averaged 4.8 yards per carry. Although the former Stanford Cardinal struggled with injuries the next two seasons, he enjoyed a career revival after being traded to the San Francisco 49ers last year.

With the Niners, McCaffrey went on to tot the rock 159 times for 746 yards with six touchdowns in 11 games. He also added 463 yards in 52 receptions. The Jaguars would surely welcome that kind of production, especially if they had a rookie passer behind center.

Having said that, it's hard to picture Jacksonville choosing McCaffrey (as talented as he is) over Lawrence. It's true that McCaffrey is great at creating yards in chunks but having a franchise quarterback always gives you a chance to win games.

Think about it, if your team has one chance to score to win and has to travel 90 yards, would you rather have a top running back or an elite quarterback? Sure, a running back could always break off but the best quarterbacks can move the ball across the football field with the game on the line. Lawrence did it several times last year.

The bottom line is that McCaffrey is a great player but Lawrence is better, which is why the Jacksonville Jaguars wouldn't probably be pleased with Reuter's mock.

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