The Raiders should have one of the most dynamic passing offenses in the NFL this season. Frankly, they need to in order to become one of the top contenders in the AFC.
That means that Derek Carr will need to have the best season of his career. Could he set career highs in passing yards and touchdowns during the 2022 season? Many around the NFL believe that he will do just that.
In a recent article by Dan Graziano of ESPN, he made the bold prediction that Carr would throw for over 5,000 yards this season. At first, that seems a bit crazy. But the more you think about it, the more realistic that becomes.
Here is what Graziano had to say about Carr and the rest of the offense for the Raiders this season based on what he’s hearing from league sources:
“First of all, he had 4,804 last year (yes, really, and he didn’t have Davante Adams to throw to. He still has Hunter Renfrow and Darren Waller, plus a couple of pass-catching running backs in addition to Adams, who’s quite determined to prove he wasn’t just an Aaron Rodgers creation.
There are question marks on the offensive line, and I don’t want to diminish the significance. But I expect these Raiders to throw, throw and throw some more, and it’s not some major stretch to think the addition of Adams to the receiving corps and Josh McDaniels to the head coach’s offense could add at least 196 yards to Carr’s 2021 total.”
In the first seven games of the season (before Henry Ruggs was released), Carr averaged 324 passing yards per game. Prorate that out to a 17-game season and that totals 5,510 passing yards.
But as we saw last year, Carr’s passing yards per game dropped to 253.5 once Ruggs was no longer a member of the team. He just didn’t have the weapons to rack up that type of yardage any longer.
That shouldn’t be an issue for Carr this season as he has playmakers all over the field. And as long as he can stay healthy and average around 295 passing yards per game, he’ll go over 5,000 passing yards for the first time in his career.
