Oakland Raiders: Top 3 players to watch in Week 1 against the Broncos

3. Derek Carr, QB

This seems obvious, but in the NFL it’s hard to win a game without adequate play from the quarterback.

Not to mention, last year was a rough year for Derek Carr as he threw 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also threw for 4,049 yards, but it’s safe to say that it wasn’t his best season to date.

Last year, Carr had a quarterback rating of 93.9 which is an adequate rating considering the year the team had. He appears to also have a better relationship with head coach Jon Gruden, which should also be monumental with the two entering the second season together.

Carr should be better-acclimated to Gruden’s offense which would go a long way in 2019. There’s also the fact that Oakland had a pretty good draft while also bringing in some other pieces in free agency.

So, Carr has more weapons at his disposal this year to make things easier. Now Carr just needs to regain his form from 2016 and the Raiders could suddenly have something that’s promising.

Granted, the Broncos will be a tough defense, but if the Raiders want to win this game they’ll need a solid game from their signal-caller. He’s key to getting the season off to a good start for the silver and black.