2011 NFL Mock Draft: Jacksonville Jaguars Select Cam Newton

With the 16th pick of Pride of Detroit's 2011 NFL Mock Draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars select Auburn quarterback Cam Newton. NorthLeft12 is serving as the Jaguars' general manager, and his reasoning for the pick is below.

Let me start out by saying that this is the worst nightmare scenario for the Jaguars at pick No. 16 that I could imagine. If I believed in the almighty Tim Tebow, I might think he is punishing us for not drafting him last year. Christian Ponder appears to be the QB of choice for the Jags and there is a lot of noise coming from the Jacksonville area that they will ignore the popular big boards of Mel Kiper/Mike Mayock et al and take Ponder earlier than expected. Unbelievably, he is gone. The other two popular choices were DEs Cameron Jordan and Aldon Smith. Gone and gone.

A lot of talk has centered on DE/OLB Ryan Kerrigan, but I agree with a lot of Jaguars fans and don't see the value there. Although Cam Newton is available, I do not see him being chosen by their straight laced GM, Gene Smith. However, Gene Smith is not making this pick. I am. And though I believe this scenario would never come to pass, I am following the First Law of DrewsLions and choose Cam Newton (scouting report here).

Once you clear away the smoke screen of nonsense, two things about Newton stand out: he is immensely talented and is a winner. If he falls into a spot with this team, he could stay on the sidelines for a while behind David Garrard and learn the nuances of the NFL game. He is a similar type QB to Garrard, except bigger and more dynamic. In my view, the sooner he is able to start for the Jaguars, the better.

The First Law of DrewsLions = "If you need a quarterback, you draft a quarterback." So it is written. So it shall be.

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Check out the 2011 Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft tracker for a look at all of the picks.