Through the first eight weeks of the 2020 season, few quarterbacks had been more efficient with the deep ball than Derek Carr of the Raiders. But Jon Gruden has not yet let Carr cut it loose in a way that is commensurate with that efficiency. Per Pro Football Focus, Carr had attempted just 20 passes of 20 or more air yards in Las Vegas’ first seven games. To put that in perspective, Carson Wentz led the league with 45 deep attempts in the season’s first eight weeks, and Carr’s 20 attempts put him behind Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield, and Philip Rivers.
Which, when you look at the numbers, doesn’t make a lot of sense. Carr has obviously worked on his deep-ball mechanics in the offseason — his upper and lower body mechanics are clearly better-integrated this season — and it’s paying off. On those 20 deep attempts, Carr had completed 11 passes for 438 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. Again to put into perspective, Aaron Rodgers led the NFL with 626 passing yards on deep attempts, and he’d had 44 of them, completing just 17.
This is one of the primary reasons Carr was the quarterback of my mid-season All-Underrated Team.
The most underrated offensive players through the first half of the 2020 NFL season
On this week’s Touchdown Wire NFL Preview Podcast, Mark Schofield and I spent a bit of time talking about this, and hypothesizing that it was time for Gruden to take the training wheels off. We are not insinuating that Gruden listens to our podcast… but so far, the deep ball is working like a charm for the Raiders against the Chargers.
There was this 45-yard third-quarter touchdown pass to Nelson Agholor that was perfectly placed…
DC dropped it right in the basket for six. 🧺#LVvsLAC | FOX pic.twitter.com/qi0ykARjuX
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) November 8, 2020
And then, Carr doubled down with this scramble-drill throw to Hunter Renfrow for 53 yards. When you have this level of communication with your receivers on broken plays, your offense is in good shape.
Just a little schoolyard pitch-and-catch for @derekcarrqb and @renfrowhunter.#LVvsLAC | FOX | #RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/mUWr0tJVdh
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) November 8, 2020
Last season, Carr completed just 18 of 48 deep passes for 568 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions, but this is clearly a different quarterback, and it’s good to see his coaches catching up.