Ranking the NFL Starting Quarterbacks
#19 Derek Carr (New Orleans Saints)
Derek Carr has displayed glimpses of greatness throughout his 10 NFL seasons. The early trajectory of his career showed the promise of perhaps the next great young quarterback. He threw 32 touchdown passes in his second season. Then he followed that up by leading the Raiders to a 12-3 record in 2016 before breaking his leg in the second-to-last game of the year.
Since then, there have been years of turmoil, poor rosters around Carr, as well as head coach and offensive coordinator changes. He’s had 6 different play-callers in his 10-year career and this season will have his 7th with Klint Kubiak taking over as the Saints OC.
Maybe that’s why he hasn’t quite been able to maximize his talent. Because from an attributes standpoint, Carr has everything you need in a quarterback.
He has a strong arm with the ability to make tight-window throws:
He can make throws that require touch:
And he’s got the athleticism to evade pass rushers and scramble for the occasional first down.
So with all of that to work with, why hasn’t it clicked entirely for Carr? Why were the Raiders so eager to get rid of a 31-year old quarterback with high-level attributes and no clear replacement plan a year ago? Why hasn’t he been able to play with enough consistency to become a top-tier QB?
The root of Carr’s issues is his processing and decision-making, primarily in response to post-snap movement and pressure. Both tend to make him lock onto receivers and not work through his reads quickly enough. It’s in these situations where he’ll force the ball and make mistakes, or flee the pocket unnecessarily and leave potential plays on the field.
When Carr is kept clean, he can be as good as almost any quarterback in the league. While that sounds like a backhanded compliment, it’s not a small thing. He really is good when he has time and space to throw in the pocket. Last year, for instance, he had a 109.5 passer rating (6th in the NFL) when kept clean.
When pressured, however, his rating was just 64.6 (23rd in the NFL). And this has really been the story throughout most of his career.
That being said, you know what you’re going to get from Carr. He’ll be a productive QB again for the Saints this season. I’ll be you didn’t know that he had a pretty good 2023 statistically (68.4 completion %, 3,878 yards, 25 TD, 8 INT, 97.7 passer rating).
If the Saints can keep him clean in 2024, you’ll see a passing game that could absolutely carry New Orleans to the NFC South division title.
Check out the rest of the rankings here:
#32 Bo Nix (Denver Broncos)
#31 Drake Maye (New England Patriots)
#30 J.J. McCarthy (Minnesota Vikings)
#29 Gardner Minshew (Las Vegas Raiders)
#28 Will Levis (Tennessee Titans)
#27 Deshaun Watson (Cleveland Browns)
#26 Anthony Richardson (Indianapolis Colts)
#25 Bryce Young (Carolina Panthers)
#24 Daniel Jones (New York Giants)
#23 Jayden Daniels (Washington Commanders)
#22 Caleb Williams (Chicago Bears)
#21 Geno Smith (Seattle Seahawks)
#20 Russell Wilson (Pittsburgh Steelers)
#19 Derek Carr (New Orleans Saints)
#18 Baker Mayfield (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
#17 Kyler Murray (Arizona Cardinals)
#16 Trevor Lawrence (Jacksonville Jaguars)
#15 Jared Goff (Detroit Lions)
#14 Tua Tagovailoa (Miami Dolphins)
#13 Kirk Cousins (Atlanta Falcons)
#12 Jalen Hurts (Philadelphia Eagles)
#11 Brock Purdy (San Francisco 49ers)
#10 Jordan Love (Green Bay Packers)
#9 Dak Prescott (Dallas Cowboys)
#8 C.J. Stroud (Houston Texans)
#7 Justin Herbert (Los Angeles Chargers)
#6 Aaron Rodgers (New York Jets)
#5 Matthew Stafford (Los Angeles Rams)
#4 Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens)
#3 Joe Burrow (Cincinnati Bengals)
#2 Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills)
#1 Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs)