After six games, we can officially say that Derek Carr is having a really strong season. While there were a couple of bad performances against the Chargers and the Bears, he’s been really good again this year.
Through six games, Carr is averaging a career-high 8.4 yards per attempt. Before this year, he has never had a season with over 7.9 yards per attempt. Despite a poor offensive line, Carr is making plays down the field and is more aggressive than ever.
In a recent article by former general manager and ESPN analyst Mike Tannenbaum, he ranked all 32 quarterbacks after Week 6. Carr came in at No. 9, ahead of quarterbacks like Justin Herbert, Joe Burrow and Kirk Cousins. Here is what he had to say about Carr so far this season:
“Las Vegas’ Derek Carr played exceptionally well in a win over the Broncos, especially in light of what the Raiders dealt with as an organization over the past week. He now has four 300-yard games this season. The deep ball was a big factor again on Sunday, as he went 6-of-10 for 219 yards and a pair of touchdown passes on throws of at least 15 air yards, per ESPN Stats and Information. And he is finding receiver Henry Ruggs III on a lot of those, especially the really deep ones. This season, Carr is 5-of-7 targeting him 30-plus yards downfield, including 2-of-2 on Sunday.”
Carr’s ability to make big-time throws down the field to Ruggs is why he has been so successful this season. He needs to be a tad more efficient on the short to intermediate throws, but that will happen as the season goes on.
Carr hasn’t been perfect, but he’s been really good once again this season. Since the start of the 2019 season, he has a passer rating of 100 and is averaging 8.0 yards per attempt. That certainly is good enough to rank him among the best passers in the NFL.