Derek Carr is coming off the best season of his career in 2020. In fact, he has steadily improved over the last three years under Jon Gruden with last year being his most efficient season. He led the Raiders to a top-10 offense and set career highs across the board.
But despite the excellent season, Carr is rarely viewed as a top-10 quarterback by most of the NFL. In fact, most media members rank him closer to No. 15 than No. 10.
In a recent article by Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus, he ranked all 32 starting quarterbacks heading into the 2021 season. Not surprisingly, Carr finished in the top half of the league, coming in at No. 13. Here is a snippet of Monson’s thoughts on Carr going into the year:
“Derek Carr finished 2020 with the eighth-best PFF passing grade and more than doubled his big-time throws from the previous season. He also engineered the only meaningful loss the Chiefs experienced during the regular season. Carr and the Raiders finished that game with 265 yards on six explosive (15-plus yard) pass plays.”
Monson’s biggest knock on Carr is that he isn’t a dynamic runner and that makes him easier to defend than say a Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen or Dak Prescott. Still, he’s one of the better pocket passers in the NFL as he completes a high percentage of his passes at nearly eight yards per attempt.
Carr may not be a top-five quarterback, but he is still among the better passers in the league. If the Raiders can protect him this year with a new-look offensive line, look for Carr to improve for the fourth-straight year under Gruden.
