Carr a Tier 2 QB according to ESPN survey
Carr is pushing Luck as the NFL's next big thing at quarterback, despite having appeared in zero playoff games thanks to an injury late last season.
"I think he can carry the team," a former GM said. "I think he has proven last year, one, how valuable he was to them when he got hurt, because I think they were going to be a contender, and I think he has shown the ability to carry the team just throwing the football. You can put it in his hands and he can win the game."
Carr finished last season with seven fourth-quarter comeback victories, one reason Oakland finished 5-0 in games decided by three or fewer points. The Raiders obviously aren't going to win all the close games, but those seven fourth-quarter comebacks were notable. Only one quarterback --
Matthew Stafford, also in 2016 -- has had more in a single season since 1960, according to Pro Football Reference.
Why, then, did three voters place Carr way down in the third tier? These skeptics credited much of Carr's success to a strong supporting cast on offense while noting that Carr struggled against Denver and Kansas City, the teams Oakland has to get past within the AFC West. Carr went 1-2 against those teams in 2016, tossing one touchdown and one interception, while averaging 5.0 yards per pass attempt. He was 1-3 against those teams, and threw five picks, in 2015.
"I understand he has a strong arm," one of the skeptics said. "I think he has superb protection, has had good running attack and really had some good receivers to throw it to. You think about those 1s, they take the game and put it on their back and win it themselves. I don't know if I would say that about Derek Carr right now."
A defensive coordinator brought up pre-draft concerns over Carr's willingness to stand tough in the pocket, noting that he'd seen some evidence in the NFL of a "chuck-and-duck" mentality. An offensive coordinator had concerns about Carr throwing too many perimeter passes out of bounds. A personnel director thought Carr would ascend unless he "decides to take chances at the wrong time, which I think he can do."
These voters all placed Carr in the second tier regardless.
"They have to win [for Carr to reach the top tier]," an exec said. "I think he is kind of like Stafford in the sense that I think he can carry a team, but his defense has not been good enough yet and he is early in his career, so he certainly has an opportunity to become a 1, but he is not a 1 yet."