Is Derek Carr the NFL’s future elite quarterback?

November 1, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) celebrates after throwing a touchdown pass against the New York Jets during the second quarter at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Derek Carr 2015

Speaking of Carr’s 2015 season, he has been making his way into a lot of conversations lately about being one of the best in the league. Chris Simms over at Bleacher Report has even dubbed Carr a top 10 QB in the league coming in as his 7th on his list of top QBs in the league right now.

Currently, among QBs who have taken 50% or more of the team’s snaps Carr is 12th in the league in yards with 2100, tied for 9th in Yards per Attempt with 7.7, Tied for 5th fewest interceptions thrown with 4, tied for 3rd most touchdown passes with 19, and has the 6th highest QB rating of 104.3.

Against the blitz Carr is outperforming his elite counterparts.  Carr’s ability to pick up a blitz during his pre-snap read is something he worked on a lot in the offseason and it’s showing. Compared to Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning, Carr is in a league of his own when it comes to being blitzed. His 129.5 QB rating while being blitzed is only rivaled by Tom Brady’s 116.2.

Of course there are spots that Carr needs to work on, his completion percentage is respectable at 63.7%, good for 15th in the league. It does bump up to 74.2% when you factor out drops, throwaways and spikes, but still keeps him 15th the league. Carr is doing a great job spreading the ball around, but his rating does drop when throwing to the left. Brady and Rodgers keep a pretty steady QB rating no matter what part of the field they throw to.

If these fancy metrics were around when Brady, Manning and Rodgers were Carr’s age I’m sure we’d see similarities across the board.

Next: Is Carr the Next Great QB