By nearly every statistical category, Derek Carr is in the midst of a career year in Las Vegas. He is setting career highs in completion percentage, yards per attempts, passer rating, etc. The Raiders have done a good job of surrounding him with more talent, but Carr is just playing better and more aggressive than ever before.
Due to his fantastic start to the season, Carr is suddenly receiving a ton of national praise for his play. In a recent article by Doug Farrar of the Touchdown Wire, Carr was named one of the league’s most underrated players of the season. Here are his thoughts on the team’s franchise passer below:
“This season, Carr ranks fourth in the NFL in passer rating (110.2), he’s thrown 14 touchdowns to just two interceptions, he ranks eighth in DYAR and ninth in DVOA, and his deep passing has been tremendous this season — 11 completions in 20 attempts of 20 or more air yards for 438 yards and a league-leading deep passer rating of 139.6. The primary reason for Carr’s increased efficiency is a massive improvement in his mechanics, especially with the deep ball — he’s more of a full-body thrower, when before, his upper and lower body tended to disagree. He is finally everything the Raiders have wanted him to be.”
Carr is set up to have a strong second half of the season, as well as the team, should get back multiple Pro Bowl offensive linemen and their schedule softens up. If he can continue to play at this level, look for him to earn a Pro Bowl nomination and for the Raiders to reach the playoffs.
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