Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr is often at or near the top of the NFL’s passing statistics each year. He saw remarkable growth under Jon Gruden, and last year he finished the season ranked fifth in passing yards. Carr also wrapped up the 2021 season with a remarkable 68.4 completion percentage. However, with Josh McDaniels taking the reins last offseason, an adjustment period was expected in terms of what Carr’s numbers would look like. So, four weeks into the regular season, how do things look for the #4?
According to Pro Football Focus, Carr barely cracks his top 10 at the moment. If you’re looking strictly at passing yards, Carr has recorded 1,038 passing yards. The difference between quarterbacks from No. 7 to No. 10 isn’t much. Again, this is based on yardage only. It does not take into account the offense of each team. For example, for the Raiders, the running game has seen an increase in usage. In fact, Josh Jacobs caught a season-high 28 carries against the Denver Broncos, which obviously means Carr has fewer opportunities.
Despite all that, the four quarterbacks who make up the top 10 (passing yards) right now are as follows:
| No. 7 Joe Burrow | #8 Tom Brady | No. 9 Derek Carr | No. 10 Geno Smith |
| 1,099 yards | 1,058 yards | 1,036 yards | 1,037 yards |
Derek Carr is adjusting to Josh McDaniels’ offense right now
This particular top 10 is going to look a lot different in two, maybe three weeks. The fact is, Carr is still finding his legs in this new offense. Speaking of which, Raider Nation got to see something that we could see of Carr moving forward, using his legs. When you see the space opposing defenses are giving Carr right now, they just don’t respect him as a running option. However, as we saw against the Broncos, Carr can still take off when needed.
The rotating offensive line has also been something Raiders fans aren’t used to. The O line arguably had its best performance of the season against the Broncos. Perhaps going forward, this unit can continue the imposing run block, which then opens up the rest of the offense for McDaniels and Carr. Monday night’s road game against the Kansas City Chiefs will certainly put test that notion.
Raiders vs. Broncos: offensive and defensive positional grades
*Photo above: Raiders official YouTube channel