Oakland Raiders: Ranking The AFC West By Position Group – Quarterbacks

The Oakland Raiders have made some moves this offseason that have created quite a buzz around the league, with some thinking they have the best shot of de-throning New England – but how do they stack up in their own division?

The Oakland Raiders, fresh off signing quarterback Derek Carr to a very lucrative deal that’s going to keep him in Silver and Black for a while, are locked in at arguably, the team’s most important position. At least, on the offensive side of the ball.

There are plenty of critics of the deal — which makes Carr the highest paid quarterback in the league (for the moment) – who argue that he hasn’t done anything to warrant such a hefty price tag. But, the reality is that Carr has been trending upward since his rookie season, and led the Raiders to their first playoff birth in nearly a decade and a half last season.

Yes, he still has room for improvement, but his ceiling is incredibly high. He’s taken tremendous steps forward in each of his three seasons in the league. Yes, people can – and do – parse stats to “prove” that he’s not worth the money. Or that he shouldn’t be spoken of in the same breath as some of the other “elite” quarterbacks in the league – Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger…

Carr still has a little ways to go to climb that ladder, no question. But to deny that he’s ascending, based on a handful of cherry picked numbers, is to deny reality.

All of that being said, nobody is saying Carr is at the pinnacle of NFL quarterbacks. If he keeps ascending, keeps taking steps forward – he just might get there.

But let’s take a look at how Carr stacks up against the other quarterbacks in the ultra-competitive AFC West.