Derek Carr is extremely accurate when he does take shots downfield
By Brad Weiss
Despite the moniker of him being “Captain Checkdown,” Derek Carr is actually one of the more accurate downfield passers in the NFL.
The Oakland Raiders did not mess around when it came to adding talent to the wide receiver group this offseason, bringing in three very good weapons for franchise quarterback Derek Carr. First, the team fleeced the Pittsburgh Steelers for All-Pro Antonio Brown, getting Carr the best weapon he has ever had in the passing game.
Soon after, the team added two deep threats in Tyrell Williams and J.J. Nelson, two guys who can really take the lid off the defense. While Carr has become synonymous with the checkdown in recent seasons, a moniker I do not believe it, there are sure to be more deep balls thrown in 2019.
For Carr, that has to be viewed as a good thing, as he has shown during the last three seasons that he is one of the more accurate downfield passers in the game. In fact, he sits behind only Russell Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks, and Drew Brees from the New Orleans Saints in Deep Accuracy according to Pro Football Focus.
Take a look at this tweet by the Raiders Pro Football Focus twitter account.
https://twitter.com/PFF_Raiders/status/1116128980413730816
For all the talk of Carr not wanting to throw downfield, this is a pretty telling statistic. Now that Carr has a solid offensive line in front of him, after the Raiders brought in Trent Brown to man one of the offensive tackle slots, you can expect him to have more time in the pocket to make big plays over the top.
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The addition of Brown to this offense is going to make it something special, but I am also excited about the additions of Williams and Nelson. Those two guys are known for making big plays down the field, and while Carr does not have the reputation to do so, expect him to connect on a bunch of deep passes during the 2019 NFL season.
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