Derek Carr took a big step forward for the Oakland Raiders last season, but is he overrated? Fans alike love his potential, but have the numbers lived up to the NFL hype?
Dan Salem and Todd Salem debate in today’s NFL Sports Debate. Two brothers from New York yell, scream, and debate sports.
TODD:
Am I allowed to say that I am not ready to anoint Derek Carr as the next big guy in the NFL? I know that sounds blasphemous. Everyone loves the Oakland Raiders this season and in the immediate future, and that has a lot to do with where people perceive Carr’s ceiling to be. But Carr hasn’t been as good yet as people are giving him credit for. This is still a work in progress: the Raiders’ offense as well as Carr’s career in general.
Last season, Carr’s second in the NFL, he took a major step up from where he was as a rookie. But despite popular belief, that step didn’t bring him into the upper echelon of passers. Instead, it really brought him from the very bottom of the league into somewhere comfortably below average.
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He averaged 6.96 yards per attempt in 2015, which ranked 26th in the NFL behind such immortal signal callers as Sam Bradford, Brian Hoyer and Blaine Gabbert. He completed 61.1 percent of his passes, which ranked 23rd in the league. His 13 interceptions were tied for ninth most and were actually more than he threw as a rookie despite fewer attempts this past season. Lastly from the stats department, Carr was 26th in QBR.
Don’t get me wrong. There are certainly signs that Carr has a bright future. After all, simply playing and starting and improving as a rookie to a sophomore is a feat in and of itself. And he continues to trend in the right direction, as does his entire squad. But let’s not bandy his name about in terms of the top guys in the game quite yet.
Though there is a brighter sheen and a longer future, he should still be considered comfortably behind fellow quarterbacks like Tony Romo, Eli Manning, Matthew Stafford and other “boring” veterans. If we are talking about the 2016 football season, I would not have Carr even in my top 15 quarterbacks. He just isn’t at that level yet.
DAN:
Carr has gained a lot of popularity and stature from fantasy football. He’s been an excellent second or third QB option, one that got much better last season. Because of the heavy weighting on quarterbacks in fantasy, this doesn’t align with his actual place in the league just yet. I for one think he keeps improving in 2016.
The biggest area where Carr excelled last season was in touchdowns. He tossed 32 in 2015 after only 21 in his rookie year. Carr kept his interceptions consistent, making the all important TD/INT ratio very impressive. Oakland has added a lot of talent to its offense, aiding in Carr’s climb up the ranks of NFL QBs.
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You aren’t wrong about Carr’s place among quarterbacks thus far, but he falls in my top 15 for this season because I love the success so far and the improvement along the way. I expect another major step forward in 2016 and that’s good enough to put him above other uncertain players.