In Derek Carr’s second year with head coach Jon Gruden, we saw him take a significant leap. During the 2019 season, Carr set career-highs in completion percentage, passing yards and passer rating. This season, Carr has somehow improved on those numbers as he is completing an absurd 73 percent of his passes and has a passer rating of 115.9.
However, not everyone is sold on Carr as an elite quarterback this season. In a recent article by Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus, Carr was ranked as the No. 12 quarterback in the NFL entering Week 7.
While he has moved up two spots from the last time he’s played, it is a bit surprising considering his numbers and the team’s record. Here are Monson’s thoughts on the Raiders’ passer this season:
“Carr is a difficult quarterback to pin down. He is clearly a technically very proficient player who is generally accurate with the ball and gets it out of his hands quickly, but his box score numbers flatter his performance a little, and he hasn’t been quite as good as some might believe.
Though he has just one interception this year, he has six turnover-worthy plays, three of which have come on third down when he has had to force a play. The Raiders offense has done a good job building around Carr, and he has found his deep ball again in 2020, which makes that entire offense a much more difficult team to contend with.”
If Carr can have a big performance against the No. 1 ranked defense in the NFL in Tampa Bay and can do it on a national stage like Sunday Night Football, he will start to receive a ton of buzz around the league. However, there is a decent chance he struggles considering the opponent and the current state of the offensive line.
Entering Week 7, Carr has been one of the league’s best passers this season and he is the reason this team sits at 3-2. He is doing exactly what Gruden hoped as Carr s improving by leaps and bounds every season. Carr is well on his way to regaining his status as a franchise quarterback.
[vertical-gallery id=74682]
[lawrence-newsletter]