5 Las Vegas Raiders that need to be great in 2020
By Kenny King
Derek Carr, QB
On a team that has seen a massive turnover since Jon Gruden took over as head coach in 2018, one constant remains, veteran quarterback Derek Carr. It has been four season since Carr led the Raiders on that playoff run in 2016, a run that ended when he broke his leg against the Indianapolis Colts on Christmas Eve.
Sure, the Raiders made the playoffs, but they had no chance without Carr, and now that he is entering his seventh season as the starter, it is time for him to lead this team back to the playoffs. Gruden and Mayock have put some exciting pieces around him, so the time is now for Carr to make this team a perennial playoff contender.
The Raiders spent a significant amount of capital investing in surrounding Carr with the tools to succeed by drafting star running back Josh Jacobs in 2019, and bringing in Henry Ruggs III in 2020 to be Carr’s first true WR1 since 2017. Carr enters the 2020 season with a confidence that he can lead this team to it’s first winning season since 2016 with the best supporting cast that he’s had since then.