Oakland Raiders franchise quarterback Derek Carr may still be an NFL neophyte with just 16 games, 348 completions, 3,270-yards and 21 touchdowns passing to his name, but the promise and potential he showed during his short professional life thus far has plenty of NFL personnel evaluators and pigskin prognosticators excited over his future.
"I saw a ton of college tape on him, he threw it 60 times a game and was almost Elway-like the way he banged 50-yard throws," a head coach said of Carr, via ESPN's Mike Sando. "Man, he can spin the ball."
Sando recently released his list ranking the starting signal-caller for each of the league's 32 franchises. While it's silly to compare a player with one NFL season under his belt to a two-time Super Bowl-winning Hall of Famer in John Elway, there's no denying there are similarities to their ability to sling the deep ball, command the huddle and avoid being rattled. Carr finished tied for a paltry 20th with Chicago's Jay Cutler, part of the third tier of NFL passers on Sando's list, but it was the quotes offered by unnamed personnel men from around the league that provided a clear window into the NFL's intrigue with and expectations for Carr going forward.
"I think he is strong in the pocket, and just watching him, it feels like he is in command, knows where he is going with the ball and has plenty of arm strength," a personnel director said. "The lack of talent around him is pretty apparent. You get the offensive line and run game going, surround him with some better players and he makes a big jump."
While that talent has certainly been upgraded in the form of wide receiver's Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree, tight end Clive Walford and center Rodney Hudson, it's true that the Raiders offense as a whole has a ways to go before it can be considered elite. Offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave's new scheme, which should feature plenty of no-huddle and a focus on short, quick passing, is likely to have as big an impact on Carr's development as even the addition of a playmaker like Cooper.
"He can spin it, he has good accuracy, he makes quick decisions," a different defensive coordinator said. "The people that like him but do not rank him higher, well, he has an awful supporting cast. No run game, awful receivers. They drafted some guys. They have a shot."
Again, the refrain from NFL personnel people seems to be that Carr will struggle unless and until new head coach Jack Del Rio finds some established playmakers to fill in the gaps around him. Cooper is one, Crabtree has played well in the past, but is no shoe-in for a major role and Walford, while a significant talent, is mostly unknown and fell to the third-round of the 2015 NFL Draft for a reason.
In the end, a stronger performance from the blockers up front - J'Marcus Webb and Menelik Watson look likely to try their hand at improving the offensive line's performance next season in place of Khalif Barnes and Austin Howard - and some development from both Carr and Cooper should have the Raiders at least on track to improving an offense that finished last season ranked dead last in the league.