Oakland Raiders: 5 realistic expectations this season

MVP-type season for Derek Carr

During the 2016 NFL season, Derek Carr established himself as one of the best young quarterbacks in all of football. However, his magical season ended on a terrible note, as he broke his leg on Christmas Eve, and the Raiders season, and his shot at an MVP trophy went out the window.

Last season, Carr was once again injured, this time early in the year against the Denver Broncos. This time, Carr broke his back, and while he came back after missing only one game, you have to believe that the injury hampered what he was trying to do all season long.

In addition to the back, he also had an inept offensive coordinator, and the entire offense took a major step backwards. In 2018, the signal-caller has a quarterback whisperer as a head coach in Jon Gruden, and offensive coordinator Greg Olson has been known to do wonders with every quarterback he has coached in his career.

After a sub-par season by his standards in 2017, Carr is going to bounce back in a big way for the Raiders in 2018. He has three legitimate studs at wide receiver in Amari Cooper, Jordy Nelson, and Martavis Bryant, and he has been locked-in all summer long. His relationship with Gruden grows everyday, and he has looked like a completely different player heading into year five.

This Raiders offense is going to be fun to watch, and while he has put up historic numbers through his first four seasons, his fifth as the starter in Oakland could bring him his first Most Valuable Player honor.