Through his first four years in the league, quarterback Derek Carr gave the Raider Nation a great deal of hope for a brighter tomorrow. He provided stability in what had been a chaotic organization since the last time Jon Gruden was the Raiders head coach. Carr has been far and away the Raiders’ best quarterback since Rich Gannon.
The Raiders absolutely crushed it in their 2014 NFL Draft. The Raiders drafted defensive end Khalil Mack No. 5 overall out of Buffalo. In the second round, the Silver and Black got arguably the best quarterback in the entire draft class in Carr. It remains to be seen what Jimmy Garoppolo will become with the Bay Area rival San Francisco 49ers, but he is promising as well.
In his first four seasons in the league out of Fresno State, Carr completed 61.3 percent of his passes for 14,690 yards, 103 touchdowns, and 44 interceptions. Before he suffered a broken foot on Christmas Eve 2016, Carr was in the mix to be NFL MVP, leading a Raiders team that went 12-4 and qualified for the AFC playoffs for the first time since 2002.
Even though 2017 was a down year for Carr, and certainly one for the Raiders, there is reason to believe that he can become a superstar signal-caller with offensive-minded head coach Gruden back into the fold.