NFL: Ranking the next five ‘elite’ quarterbacks

Derek Carr, Oakland Raiders

The future of the Oakland Raiders is greatly in question. But for the first time in more than a decade, the silver and black can take solace in knowing that the quarterback position is not. They finally have a franchise quarterback.

There tends to be two ways a young quarterback performs early in his career, and much of it is based on his organization’s approach to his development. Some, like Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck in Indianapolis, play early and are handed the keys to the offense. They learn through struggles and often throw more picks than touchdowns.

Then there’s the approach the Steelers took with Ben Roethlisberger, which is to allow him to grow around a great roster and running game, and simply ask the young signal-caller to not make mistakes. Neither approach is better than the other. Both are capable of producing “elite” quarterbacks over time.

The Raiders took the latter approach and will reap the rewards from that approach in time, so long as they ensure 2014 was not Carr’s best season. To do that, they need to find some more weapons for him, and allow those weapons to play traditional Raider football. That is to go deep.

Carr had a league low 5.5 yards per attempt in 2014, in part because of a passing game which hardly ever threw the ball down the field. While not blessed with a JaMarcus Russell arm, Carr can get the ball down field.

And as evidenced by his touchdown-to-interception ratio of 21/12, he makes great decisions with the football. Carr also only took 24 sacks in 2014, so he knows how to get rid of the football. His completion percentage suffered a bit, so surrounding him with dangerous weapons and an offensive line that can protect him is important. But that’s true of every quarterback who has ever played.

Next: In a 2014 redraft, he might go No. 1 overall, but that's water under the bridge now