Oakland Raiders show that Derek Carr is their franchise quarterback

The Oakland Raiders were the subject of plenty of rumors that they were getting a new franchise quarterback in the NFL Draft, but held true to their words regarding Derek Carr.

Heading into the 2019 NFL Draft, rumors swirled that the Oakland Raiders were going to be in the market for a new quarterback. Media members had the team trading up to get Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray, or even settling for Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins with the No. 4 overall pick.

Well, we have stood tall in backing Carr, reiterating that he is the franchise quarterback for the Raiders. General manager Mike Mayock and head coach Jon Gruden have also been saying all the right things about Carr, stating time and time again that he is the team’s franchise quarterback moving forward.

Still, even after the Raiders passed on a quarterback three times in the first round, some members of the media had them taking Drew Lock with the No. 35 overall pick on Day 2. Well, Gruden and Mayock picked nine players in the 2019 NFL Draft, and not one of them plays the quarterback position, although their last pick has the initials of Q.B.

To be honest, this should not have even been an issue, as Carr is coming off a very good year with very little weapons. He completed nearly 70 percent of his passes, threw for over 4,000 yards for the first time in his career, and did all of this despite the fact he was running for his life all season long.

At 28-years old, Carr is just entering his prime, and he will enter the 2019 season with the best weapons he has ever had. Antonio Brown is the elite wide receiver in the NFL, and the Raiders added talent behind him on the depth chart in Tyrell Williams, J.J. Nelson, and draft pick Hunter Renfrow.

In fact, Oakland gave Carr more weapons than just Renfrow in the 2019 NFL Draft, adding the best running back in the draft class in Josh Jacobs, and a stellar tight end prospect in LSU’s Foster Moreau. This is a loaded Raiders offense, and we have seen what Carr can do without these kind of weapons.

This should be a special season for Carr, as he will finally have some stability when it comes to the offense he is running. The marriage between him and Gruden has been a solid one so far, and with all the weapons the team brought in this offseason, expect a monster season out of No. 4 in 2019.