Over the last few seasons, head coach Jon Gruden has wanted Derek Carr to make more plays outside of the pocket. To Carr’s credit, he’s improved significantly in that area over the last few years.
In a recent article by Pro Football Focus, they praised Carr’s accuracy on plays in which he rolls outside of the pocket. According to the site, he is 90 percent accurate on roll-out passes and that is up significantly from last season when he finished at 76 percent.
It also helps that the team has more weapons at tight end and receiver, giving Carr bigger and better targets to throw to when he is outside the pocket. But the improvement from Carr has been that he is more patient and isn’t throwing balls away or to check downs. He’s keeping his eyes down the field and it’s resulted in several big plays.
The Raiders will need Carr to continue to be hyper-accurate and efficient over the final 11 games of the season if they want to have a chance to make the playoffs. Luckily for them, Carr is in the middle of a career year with the Raiders and this team is poised to make a playoff run.
