Derek Carr looking like franchise quarterback even without star receiver

Derek Carr has been taking a lot of criticism on whether or not he can put the team on his shoulders for the foreseeable future.

Despite the vast amount of evidence that Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr is an above average, if not an elite quarterback, there have been doubters about his ability to lead without a No.1 option. During his first five seasons at the helm of the Raiders, Carr has put his team on his back on numerous occasions, even breaking it in the process.

Still, there are those who feel the Raiders may move in a new direction next season, but this summer, it is clear that won’t be the case. Carr has become the unquestioned leader of this Raiders team, and has the full faith, and support of his head coach, Jon Gruden.

To start training camp, Carr has been without his best weapon in Antonio Brown, who the team traded for this offseason. However, that has not stopped him from taking control of the offense without him, which is a fantastic sign for when AB returns.

Jerry McDonald from Mercury News witnessed Carr take control of the offense even without Antonio Brown:

"[He] was sharp, particularly in the red zone, during a non-padded session, spreading the ball around to a host of receivers. There was a jump-and-catch end zone fade to Tyrell Williams, a thread-the-needle bullet inside the 5 to Keelan Doss and a perfectly thrown floater to Marcel Ateman for another score."

Tyrell Williams is looking to be a more valuable asset than many of the other team members it looks like. With Brown out, Williams is stepping up in a big way. Nicholas Cothrel of Just Blog Baby recently wrote about how Williams and Carr are clicking in a big way:

"Derek Carr and his new playmaker both took the field together for day one of camp, and their connection during 7-on-7 action clicked quite nicely. Carr hit Williams deep continuously throughout the practice, showing his defense and the fans how dynamic the duo can really be."

Nicholas also reported Williams’ response:

"“Yeah, I mean we got together in the offseason in between mini-camp and training camp so I feel like we’re good right now,” said Williams. “It’s starting to click. Obviously there’s still things we want to work on but for day one it feels good.”"

Carr spoke about the chemistry and spoke highly of Williams:

"“This is the time to find out and he’s consistently done that,” Carr said. “I think everyone that’s been at practice is seeing Tyrell not just as a number two receiver. He can easily take the featured role and be a 100-catch, 1,000-yard guy. And the fact that we got him is a blessing man.”"

The quarterback even mentioned J.J. Nelson:

"“I’ll never forget the first go (route) I threw him,” Carr said. “I thought I overthrew him, and I left it short about three yards . . . everyone says he is fast but every day that’s a legit 4.2.”"

Whatever the fans think, it’s clear the team is behind  Derek Carr and he’s the quarterback of the future for the Oakland Raiders. Add this with Josh Jacobs and his upside, this team is on a roll.