Raiders superlatives: Predicting the ’22 season MVP, MIP, ROTY and more
Predicting the superlatives for the Raiders 2022 season
Why Carr will win MVP, Reason No. 3
Carr’s overall talent
The general consensus when it comes to the “Greatest talent at quarterback in NFL history” is Aaron Rodgers – Again, greatest talent, not greatest player or career. There’s a reason I’m bringing this up.
Four pass catchers have started at Aaron Rodgers and found their way to Derek Carr sometime after. Of these four, James Jones was the first, who was there when Carr was a rookie in 2014.
As early as Carr’s rookie season, former Packer and Raiders receiver James Jones dubbed Carr as “Mini Rodgers”. This was due to Carr’s calmness and “Coolness” when in the pocket, which hasn’t changed much today. Needless to say, this was as high of praise as you can give a rookie, but perhaps a bit premature. We’ll check in with another and see if there’s a trend here.
From Jones, Jared Cook came to play with Carr.
Cook made it clear that he sees the similarities between Carr and Rodgers. Ball placement, ability to read coverages, ability to read defenders positioning on pass catchers and put the ball where only the receiver can get it, are some of the things that stood out to Cook in comparing Carr to the now reigning back-to-back MVP.
“I’ve played with older guys and they don’t know how to have that right touch to get the ball to the position where the receiver needs it. D.C. has that down”, Cook stated in his ball placement comparison between the two.
Jordy Nelson is the third, who didn’t comment much on comparisons between his two quarterbacks. Nelson took a different approach, stating he doesn’t think it’s fair to either of the quarterbacks if he compares them. The 10-year Packer also stated he knew about the Rodgers-Carr comparisons coming in, as they were well documented.
The final player to play with Rodgers before transitioning to Derek Carr is Davante Adams. This week, Adams was quoted saying, “As far as talent and ability, it’s really similar, if I’m keeping it real”.
Taking all of this into account, from the supporting cast to leadership, all the way to Carr’s overall skills and abilities, it’s hard to consider anyone else for Most Valuable Player other than the quarterback who wears no.4. Carr just signed an extension this off-season, to continue playing for the squad he “rather retire than not play for”. Now, it’s time for an MVP-caliber year.