Oakland Raiders Depth Chart Projections: Quarterback
By Chase Ruttig
Jun 17, 2014; Alameda, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Matt Schaub (8) throws a pass at minicamp at Raiders Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
#1. Matt Schaub
Barring injury or a Matt Flynn level preseason collapse under center, Matt Schaub will start Week One for the Oakland Raiders in East Rutherford against the New York Jets. After all the Raiders gave up a draft pick and committed enough salary to Schaub (rather then going after the much cheaper and eventual Texan signing Ryan Fitzpatrick) that they will be giving the former leader of the Texans first playoff teams in franchise history a chance to turn his career around in the hopes that they will have a quality veteran in place while their second round draft pick in Carr develops.
The biggest question surrounding Schaub is whether or not he can revive his career after things completely fell apart in Houston. Thanks to his 2013 season he has a ton of bad tape out there that has led to analysts writing off one of the most consistent quarterbacks outside of the top echelon since he arrived with the Texans. McKenzie, head coach Dennis Allen and offensive coordinator Greg Olson believe and hope that they can help Schaub return to being the player who has thrown for 4,000 plus yards and 20 plus TD’s in each of his last three 16 game seasons.
Heading into Training Camp the best case scenario for the Raiders is that Schaub returns to as close to former form as possible, which could be 2012 Carson Palmer levels. If Schaub can hover around 4000 yards and 20 touchdowns through the air in 2014 while limiting turnovers and managing the game well enough to get wins for the Raiders the trade for the struggling Schaub will be deemed as a success. After all his job description is to win games until Derek Carr is ready to becoming the face of the Raiders offense, if Schaub can do that while making the Raiders a competitive and competent team on offense everybody will be happy. If not, expect the cheers for Carr to start sooner rather than later, something that the Raiders don’t want to happen until their rookie is ready to lead.