Getty Derek Carr with Tom Brady.
New Las Vegas Raiders coach Josh McDaniels is set up for success with his new job but there’s still plenty of work to do. Derek Carr is a top-12 quarterback in the NFL and is coming off a strong season in which he led the team to its second playoff berth since 2002. If McDaniels and company plan to keep Carr going forward, there’s a chance that he can reach even greater heights.
The coach spent years working closely with Tom Brady, who is widely considered the greatest quarterback of all time. While Brady deserves most of the credit for his success, McDaniels certainly played a role in it. That’s clear by the fact that the coach helped develop Mac Jones from an uninspiring rookie to being the most successful quarterback of last year’s draft class.
Carr is obviously established and just spent years working under another quarterback guru in Jon Gruden. It’s safe to say that he’s pretty close to his ceiling as a player. Charles Woodson had a chance to play with Carr towards the end of his career and has remained a fan of the quarterback. He also played with Brady in college. He was recently asked by TMZ if McDaniels can turn Carr into the next Brady. Woodson was blunt with his answer.
“There’s one Tom Brady,” Woodson said.
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Carr Doesn’t Need to Be Brady
It’s a silly question to ask if Carr can be the next Brady. The Raiders quarterback is 30-years-old and is a known commodity. Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time so Carr would need to have a legendary decade to even be mentioned in the same breath.
That’s not a knock on the quarterback. Brady is in a league of his own, at this point. Now, McDaniels can help Carr sneak into the top-10 quarterback range. He was considered top-five after his 2016 season, which saw him get MVP votes. He hasn’t exactly reached those same heights but he also hasn’t had McDaniels as a playcaller. Gruden was fashioned as an offensive genius but it was clear that the game had passed him by during his second stint with the Raiders.
Woodson Thinks McDaniels Will Be Successful in Las Vegas
The biggest concern with the Raiders hiring McDaniels is that he’s been a head coach before and failed spectacularly. He didn’t even make it two full seasons with the Denver Broncos. however, that was a long time ago and McDaniels has learned a lot along the way. Woodson thinks that the coach will get the job down this time.
“He’s been a head coach,” Woodson said. “He’s been through it one time before. So, he’s gained the experience.”
“I think he’ll be good the second time around,” he added.
It’s unfair to judge McDaniels’ ability as a coach just on a couple of seasons. He could very well fail with the Raiders but it’s easy to see why owner Mark Davis would want to hire him.
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