• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Cold Wire

Breaking News, Sports, Entertainment, TV, Tech ...

  • Home
  • Sports
    • NFL
    • NBA
    • MLB
  • Entertainment
  • World News
  • Cold Hard Facts
  • About
You are here: Home / Sports / NFL / Is Derek Carr A Truly Elite Quarterback?

Is Derek Carr A Truly Elite Quarterback?

By Robert Marvi July 26, 2022

Derek Carr #4 of the Las Vegas Raiders warms up before playing against the Los Angeles Chargers at Allegiant Stadium on January 09, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
(Photo by Chris Unger/Getty Images)

 

The Las Vegas Raiders and their fans have a lot to look forward to this season.

They now have Davante Adams, whom many consider to be the best wide receiver in the NFL, as well as Chandler Jones, an excellent pass-rushing linebacker.

Although many are picking the Los Angeles Chargers to win the AFC West, some feel the Raiders could be destined for that designation.

It will ultimately fall upon the shoulders of quarterback Derek Carr, who has raised his game in recent years and could see another bump in his production by virtue of having Adams on his side.

But is Carr an elite QB who is capable of leading the Raiders on a sincere run at a Super Bowl championship?

 

Where Carr Ranked Last Season

There is no doubt that Carr, a native of Central California, is a very good signal-caller.

In 2021, he threw for a career-high 4,804 yards, which ranked fifth in the NFL ahead of Joe Burrow, Josh Allen and even MVP Aaron Rodgers.

Carr also ranked fifth in pass completion percentage, and he had the second-most game-winning drives in the league with six.

Behind his leadership, the Raiders won a riveting season-finale versus the Chargers to reach the playoffs by the slimmest of margins, where they lost to Burrow’s Cincinnati Bengals in the Wild Card round, 26-19.

Las Vegas certainly had enough confidence in Carr to give him a three-year, $121.5 million contract extension in April.

 

The Knocks Against Carr

However, the Fresno State University product has come up short in some critical areas.

He threw for just 23 touchdowns in 2021, which was just 13th in the NFL, and he had the sixth-most interceptions with 14.

Although he has put up strong numbers for most of his eight-year career, this past season was the first time he appeared in the playoffs (the Raiders made it there in 2016, but he couldn’t play due to a fractured fibula).

In that playoff contest against Cincinnati, Carr went just 29-of-54, and while he threw a touchdown, he also threw an interception, was sacked three times and posted a passer rating of just 69.2.

Derek Carr strip sacked by the Bengals! pic.twitter.com/cVeEwP6bPN

— Main Team (@MainTeamSports2) January 15, 2022

Even worse, that interception came with 17 seconds left while on the Bengals’ nine-yard line.

4th and goal

Derek Carr throws it short of the end zone and it gets picked off 🤷‍♂️

The Bengals win their first playoff game in 31 years!

pic.twitter.com/veBLRqVrfE

— Eric Rosenthal (@ericsports) January 16, 2022

Some may want to dismiss Carr’s poor outing because it was his first-ever postseason game or because the Raiders just weren’t a very good team, but elite QBs don’t often play so poorly in their playoff debut.

But the reality is that Carr hadn’t performed well all season long in crunch time, at least in some respects.

The game-sealing INT was #Raiders QB Derek Carr's 9th turnover in the 4th quarter/OT this season including playoffs. That's the most by any player in the NFL. Entering the day, Carr was tied with Trevor Lawrence for the most in the league, per @ESPNStatsInfo

— Paul Gutierrez (@PGutierrezESPN) January 16, 2022

After making the Pro Bowl three straight times early in his career, he hasn’t gotten such a nod since 2017, even though his statistical production has gotten better.

As of now, Carr clearly isn’t an elite QB, and if one wants to argue that he actually is, keep in mind that superlatives such as “elite” shouldn’t be thrown around loosely.

 

No Excuses This Year

With perhaps the best wideout on his side, as well as a quickly improving Hunter Renfrow, Carr won’t have any excuses this season to prove he is truly worthy of being considered one of the top-tier QBs in football.

People can point to concerns about the Raiders’ offensive line, which are seemingly legitimate, but if Carr doesn’t up his production this year, he simply cannot be considered elite no matter what.

    Get ALL the latest NFL news straight to your inbox! Subscribe to the Cold Wire NFL newsletter here!    

Recent News

Tom Brady #12 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers reacts in the second quarter of the game against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Divisional Playoff game at Raymond James Stadium on January 23, 2022 in Tampa, Florida.
Buccaneers HC Reveals When Tom Brady Will Return
Malik Willis #QB16 of Liberty throws during the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 03, 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Malik Willis Can Show Off His Big Arm Thursday Night
Roquan Smith #58 of the Chicago Bears on the field in the game against the Baltimore Ravens during the first quarter at Soldier Field on November 21, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois.
NFL Insider Shares List Of Roquan Smith Landing Spots

Filed Under: Las Vegas Raiders Rumors And News (Updated Daily), NFL Tagged With: Las Vegas Raiders

About Robert Marvi

Robert is a Los Angeles-area native and has been an avid NFL and NBA fan since he was a little kid. He feels strongly that pro sports aren't just a form of entertainment, but also a great way to learn life lessons and find inspiration.

Suggest a correction

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Allan says

    July 26, 2022 at 1:27 pm

    Elite QBs teams dont have a bottom of the barrel defense like the raiders,( 29th last year). They dont go through multiple coaching changes in just a short time like Carr. They dont lose their top WR being arrested like Carr. And they dont have lousy offensive lines like Carr. So yeah with all that he has been delt for most of his career– he is an Elite QB.
    You dont win play offs or Super Bowls with a bottom ranked defense. Give the Raiders just a middle of the pack defense and offensive line and Carrs eliteness show through.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Follow The Cold Wire!

Primary Sidebar

Search The Cold Wire

Footer

Privacy Policy

Terms and Conditions

Editorial Guidelines

Contact Us

Sitemap

Advertise

Follow us on

Copyright © 2022 · ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ·TheColdWire.com

Suggest a Correction

Is Derek Carr A Truly Elite Quarterback?

1000 characters remaining