Going into the 2014 NFL draft, pretty much everybody agreed Fresno State quarterback Derek Carr was among the absolute best in the class.
He had a live arm, mobility, charisma and was productive over most of his college career. Any box that could be checked was checked. Yet for some reason experts just couldn’t let go of one fact. Something that Derek had zero control over. He was brothers with David Carr, the former 1st overall pick of the Houston Texans. A man considered among the bigger draft busts of the past 20 years.
It’s never easy taking over on a bad football team. Carr had to take over one that had never played a football game together in history. The Texans were an expansion franchise in 2002. None of their players knew each other and most of them weren’t any good. Carr was somehow expected to lift all of that to success by himself? He never had a chance. In 75 starts for Houston, he was sacked an absurd 249 times. Calling him a bust really isn’t fair.
Second of all, assuming his brother will have a similar career path is utter lunacy. Sure they’re family and went to the same school. That doesn’t make them the same person. Nor would Derek enter the same unique circumstances of taking over an expansion team. So loads of teams made that bad miscalculation and the Oakland Raiders inexplicably took advantage. They took him in the 2nd round and now he’s on course for MVP.
Adam Schein of NFL Network agrees.
"“The Raiders are legit because Carr is a true franchise quarterback. On the road this year, the 25-year-old is 5-0 with 11 touchdown passes (against one interception) and a 102.6 passer rating. Dude is a gamer.”"
Oakland is 6-2 on the season. By far their best start to a year since 2002 when they last made the playoffs. The fact they’re doing it with such a bad defense is a testament to just how brilliant Carr has been. He’s on pace for over 4,600 yards passing with 34 touchdowns and just six interceptions. Those are beyond elite numbers, comparable to the Bradys and the Rodgers of this league. Those guys have better defenses to lean on.
It’s why Carr is the real MVP and it’s why other teams will kick themselves for the next 15 years for not having the common sense to draft him in the 1st round.