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

2. Derek Carr (Oakland Raiders)

With the ink barely dry on his shiny new five-year, $125 million dollar deal, Carr is getting paid like an elite-level quarterback. Now, of course, the expectations from many circles are that he plays like an elite-level quarterback.

While Carr has made some tremendous strides from his rookie season to now, he’s not yet quite on par with the likes of Brady, Rodgers, or Matt Ryan. But he’s getting closer.

Time and time again, Carr put the team on his back and led them to victory. In 2016 alone, Carr led the Raiders on seven fourth quarter game winning drives. Seven. And overall, he has twelve in his career. He’s quickly becoming one of the most clutch quarterbacks in the game.

And with a nearly 64 percent completion rate, very nearly 4,000 yards, and 28 touchdowns against just six interceptions in 2016, Carr is quickly becoming one of the better overall quarterbacks in the game today.

He’s not there yet, but he’s getting there. Every season, we’ve seen him take tremendous steps forward. We’ve seen him refine different aspects of his game as he seeks to continually improve his craft – like the great ones always do.

Many believe 2017 is going to be the year Carr catapults himself to the top of the NFL quarterback pile. Or at least, put himself in the conversation of some of the good ones in the game today. He might even make another serious run for MVP honors.

But, we’ll just have to wait and see how the 2017 season all plays out. If Carr keeps trending in the same direction he’s been going in, it could be a very good year, not just for him, but for the Raiders as a whole.

Carr’s arrow is pointed in the right direction and he very well could move into the ranks of the elite this season. But for the moment, he’s still the second best quarterback in the AFC West.