Raiders: How Josh McDaniels can get Derek Carr back to the Pro Bowl

Raiders: How Josh McDaniels can get Derek Carr back to the Pro Bowl

Utilizing play-action

Under Josh McDaniels, the Patriots were often one of the league’s best play-action offenses. Of course, much of this is due to the brilliance of Tom Brady but Mac Jones ran these same plays as well in 2021. It’s easy to envision if you have watched the Patriots in recent years: Tom Brady fakes a handoff, hits the last step of his drop, then turns and fires the ball to the middle of the field.

Derek Carr is proficient in this aspect as well. During the 2020 season, Carr was the NFL’s most accurate passer-off-play action. He works best in these scenarios as it tends to give him the mismatches that he always looks to exploit.

During his New England tenure, tight ends were often the beneficiary of these plays. As such, expect heavy usage of 12 personnel from McDaniels to get both Waller and Foster Moreau on the field and allow Carr to choose what matchups he likes best. Also, the Raiders are very likely to add speed at the receiver position which always helps in the play-action pass game.

Makes more sense for Raiders to pursue Brandin Cooks

Las Vegas Raiders fans want their team to acquire a big-name wide receiver this offseason, and Brandin Cooks might be an option to consider.

You are probably thinking, isn’t this the same stuff they did under Jon Gruden? Yes, it is. However, that is hardly a bad thing. The Raiders offenses under Gruden, while not perfect, were solid and they allowed Carr to have some of his best seasons. In 2022, expect the Raiders offense to loom familiar while also featuring some Patriots-themed changes.