Derek Carr is often referred to as being the prime meridian for NFL quarterbacks, yet the Raiders’ general manager believes he’s better than that.
Far better, actually.
Carr has yet to lead the team to a playoff win, but he’s been a solid value selection for the 36th overall player taken in the 2014 draft. The Raiders have been his team since he was drafted, and there hasn’t really been any pressure behind him, with no other quarterbacks waiting in the wings. The team did sign Marcus Mariota to do just that last year, but an offseason injury landed him injured reserve, causing him to miss the entire 2020 campaign.
And Carr, to his credit, did have a career year last season. He rebounded from a mediocre 2019, completing 67.3 percent of his passes, with 27 touchdowns and nine interceptions, as he actually took some deep shots downfield, rather than just checking the ball down early and often.
It still wouldn’t be a shock if head coach Jon Gruden drafted a quarterback, though, or signed one to compete with Carr. But given what Mike Mayock recently said, that may not happen, as they seem to be pretty confident he’ll be the starter heading into the 2021 season.
“I think Derek Carr has earned a lot of respect around this league from an awful lot of people,” Mayock said, according to Jeremy Bregman of NFL.com. “I think Derek Carr had his best year yet, under Jon Gruden. I think he’s one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL and we couldn’t be happier with him.”
He continued:
“If you’re asking me about Derek, I think Jon and I would both stand shoulder to shoulder and pound the table for Derek Carr.”
Carr may have played like a top-ten quarterback last season, but we’re not as high on him as Mayock is.
