Christian McCaffrey deserves place in NFL MVP conversation

Christian McCaffrey is making an undeniable case to be in the NFL MVP conversation with how he’s paving the way for the Carolina Panthers.

Some people would make the argument that, considering the value of quarterbacks in the NFL, only a player at that position should ever win NFL MVP. There is merit to that argument. On the other hand, anyone saying that through Week 5 of the 2019 season isn’t watching what Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey is doing this year.

Entering a matchup with the Jaguars on Sunday, McCaffrey already had 86 rushes for 411 yards and four touchdowns, supplemented by an equally impressive 25 receptions for 218 receiving yards. One year after turning heads by coming close to 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in the same season and Run CMC was on pace to do it again this year.

After his performance against Jacksonville, he’s in even better position to potentially make that happen.

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McCaffrey was near unstoppable on Sunday in Charlotte, carrying the ball 19 times for 176 yards and two touchdowns while adding six catches for 61 yards and another score. He did it all when he needed to against the Jags, hurdling and flipping over defenders for touchdowns, breaking off monster runs and consistently moving the chains.

When people make the argument that only quarterbacks should win MVP, the primary reason is that running backs, wide receivers and essentially every non-quarterback in the league doesn’t affect the game enough to be considered. McCaffrey is the exception to that and he’s proving that right now.

There’s no questioning that quarterback Kyle Allen has filled in admirably for an injured Cam Newton and also no escaping the fact that Newton was quite pedestrian to start the year. And yet, the Panthers are still in the mix in the NFC South at 3-2. That isn’t happening without McCaffrey.

CMC is everywhere for this team because he has to be. He’s making plays when simply running the ball but also serving as a highly effective, potent pass-catcher and safety valve for Allen to help the backup be effective. Moreover, McCaffrey’s prowess as a dual-threat player out of the backfield then opens up the rest of the field for Allen to operate in a simplified offense.

Subsequently, the argument primarily used for quarterbacks just doesn’t fly in the case of McCaffrey. The running back is putting up numbers only seen on Madden and doing so routinely. And when you factor in what that means for a team that would be lost without him, how can you not put him in the MVP discussion?

If Christian McCaffrey continues playing at this pace and goes for 1,000-1,000, it’s hard to say whether or not he could overtake Patrick Mahomes in the NFL MVP race this season. However, there’s no question that he deserves to be mentioned as a viable, legitimate challenger. He’s been just that damn good.