Derek Carr outshining fellow 2014 quarterbacks

Blake Bortles, Teddy Bridgewater, and Derek Carr were all linked together during the 2014 NFL Draft and the 2014 regular season.

Each of the three quarterbacks – the highest taken in that year – were joining teams that desperately needed stability at the most important position in football. They were all expected to be starters soon and they all managed to put together significant rookie campaigns.

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At the end of 2014, the quarterbacks shook out like this:

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Blake Bortles:

3-10 record as starter, 58.9 completion percentage, 2908 yards, 11 TDs, 17 INTs, 6.1 yards per attempt

Teddy Bridgewater: 6-6 record as starter, 64.4 completion percentage, 2919 yards, 14 TDs, 12 INTs, 7.3 yards per attempt

Derek Carr: 3-13 record as starter, 58.1 completion percentage, 3270 yards, 21 TDs, 12 INTs, 5.5 yards per attempt

While there were qualities about Carr’s game that gave some people pause – especially his low 5.5 yards per attempt – there was enough production from him as a rookie to make his ascension among the “best young quarterbacks” a near-certain thing in 2015.

Christopher Hansen at Bleacher Report made a compelling argument back in July, summed up in a piece on why Derek Carr will have a “super sophomore” campaign:

"Since 1920, only Andrew Luck has attempted more passes as a rookie than Carr. Luck’s completion percentage was lower, he took 17 more sacks and threw six more interceptions than Carr did his rookie season. He also threw two more touchdowns with more yards per attempt.Sam Bradford is the only player since 1920 to complete more passes than Carr as a rookie. He finished with a slightly better completion percentage, three fewer touchdowns, three more interceptions and 10 more sacks than Carr did."

Dec 7, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) reacts after throwing a touchdown pass against the San Francisco 49ers in the second quarter at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

As we inched closer and closer to the 2015 regular season the speculation only increased.

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Now, eight games into the 2015 season for all three of the quarterbacks, we can more accurately measure how they stack up. If you’ve been paying attention to the news lately, it seems pretty clear that Carr has taken a massive step forward. But just how much better is he now in comparison to Bortles and Bridgewater?

Here are how things are shaking out for the three young QBs in 2015:

Blake Bortles: 2-6 record as starter, 56.3 completion percentage, 2193 yards, 17 TDs, 10 INTs, 7.1 yards per attempt

Teddy Bridgewater: 6-2 record as starter, 64.2 completion percentage, 1670 yards, 6 TDs, 6 INTs, 7.2 yards per attempt

Derek Carr: 4-4 record as starter, 63.7 completion percentage, 2094 yards, 19 TDs. 4 INTs, 7.7 yards per attempt

Looking at Carr’s numbers in comparison to those of his peers, it is clear that he is not just avoiding a sophomore slump, but is taking a massive step forward toward the “super sophomore” campaign that Hansen mentioned in his piece.

What is perhaps the most interesting to look at is the change from 2014 and 2015 in what these quarterbacks are expected to deliver.

While Bortles was a bit of a mixed bag (to put it kindly) by the end of his rookie season, he had the physical tools to deliver high production. We are seeing that now in his second season, though his continued high interception rate (3.2 percent of his attempted passes) is a persistent problem. He’s become a high risk, high reward quarterback.

Bridgewater’s growth has been interestingly stagnant, statistically. While the Minnesota Vikings offense does not run through the quarterback (30th ranked passing attack), it was expected that Bridgewater would be able to deliver even more production in his second season. Instead, his overall numbers have slumped.

Carr, in contrast to his peers, has taken a step forward in both production and ball security. Nearly passing his 2014 yardage in just eight games, Carr has also raised his completion percentage by a ridiculous 5.6 points. His touchdowns are almost at the same level as the year before, and he has limited his mistakes to such a high degree that people should no longer look to Bridgewater as the “ball security” quarterback.

Carr is offering an even higher reward than Bortles with less risk than Bridgewater.

Oct 25, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) reacts after throwing a touchdown pass against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Just a half season in and it’s clear that Derek Carr’s development is well on track and he looks to be significantly improved compared to his peers. He doesn’t have the best of every statistic, though he’s incredibly close in completion percentage and total yards.

Where Carr’s biggest improvement seems to be is in his yards per attempt. Seeing impressive growth of 2.2 yards per attempt, Carr is well on his way to impressive numbers to finish the season.

All things are not equal among these three quarterbacks (or the situations with their respective teams) and they will all continue to develop. Right now, it doesn’t look like there is a bad one in the bunch.

But if you had told experts across the league during the 2014 draft that the second-round quarterback for the Oakland Raiders was going to be showing such significant gains over Bortles and Bridgewater in just his second season, you may not have been taken seriously.

Carr was considered a good quarterback, but this good this fast?

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In addition to looking great in comparison to his 2014 peers, Carr has also looked stellar in comparison to all NFL quarterbacks this season. Steve Palazzolo at Pro Football Focus recently put Carr at number five in his top 10 quarterbacks entering Week 10, saying, “making his debut in the top five, Carr continues to impress every week. He matched Roethlisberger throw for throw in their shootout, coming up just short in the end, but finishing with our top grade among QBs for the week.”

Kudos to Derek Carr for the hard work that has gone into a truly impressive quarterbacking performance through half a season. Hopefully he’ll be able to keep it up for the next eight games. He’ll have to if he doesn’t want to be surpassed by a surging Blake Bortles and a competent Teddy Bridgewater.

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