Getty Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden.
The Las Vegas Raiders have made it relatively clear this offseason that they think Derek Carr will be their starting quarterback in 2020. That hasn’t stopped many from speculating that they could upgrade from making a change at the position. Right now, two former number one overall picks at quarterback are sitting in free agency and there doesn’t appear to be a lot of interest in either.
Cam Newton is the most notable as he was the NFL’s MVP in 2015 and was one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the league for some time. Unfortunately, he’s fallen on hards times over the last few years and he’s been bitten badly by the injury bug. However, that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t be an upgrade for some teams. Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report recently asked an anonymous AFC coach about how Newton would fit with certain teams and his answer when it came to the Raiders was very interesting.
“They’d make the playoffs with him at quarterback,” the coach said.
Would Newton Give the Raiders a Better Shot at the Playoffs?
Considering it wasn’t all that long ago that Newton was the NFL’s MVP, some cut him a lot of slack. However, the fact of the matter is that he hasn’t nearly recaptured the magic from the 2015 season. He’s only posted a winning record in one of the last four seasons and his statistics haven’t been all that impressive.
The Raiders were in the playoff race until Week 17 of last season, so they aren’t far off. Sure, Newton could probably lead them there, but it’s hard to argue he gives them a better shot than Derek Carr does. Newton’s ability to create plays outside of the pocket would be very appealing to Jon Gruden, but that’s why he signed Marcus Mariota. Keeping Carr as the starter and having Mariota as insurance makes the most sense for the Raiders. The team has only gotten more talented since last season and it’s hard to imagine they aren’t close earning a playoff berth in 2020.
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Derek Carr’s WRs Drop a Lot of Passes
If the Raiders hope to get better play from Derek Carr, they need to surround him with better wide receivers. Over the course of his entire career, his wide receivers have been top five in the league in dropped passes.
Derek Carr has never finished an NFL season in which he wasn’t Top 5 in dropped passes by his targets (26.8 per season).
4th, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 5th, 3rd
The best wide receiver he’s ever had was Amari Cooper and he’s consistently among the NFL’s worst offenders when it comes to drops. While Cooper is good, it could be argued that Carr has never played with an elite wide receiver. He almost had the chance to play with Antonio Brown, but that obviously fell through. It’s a shame because the Raiders would’ve finally gotten a chance to see the quarterback’s ceiling.
The Raiders know they need to find some good pass catchers and they are armed with two first-round picks to add talent. If the team can nail the draft and find an elite wide receiver, Carr could be in for his best season yet.
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