The Philip Rivers era is over in Los Angeles, but should the Las Vegas Raiders be worried about Chargers quarterback Tyrod Taylor?
Rivers, the long time arch-nemesis of the Silver and Black, will not playing in the AFC West anymore. Depending on how you feel about Taylor, that can be a good thing or not. Assuming the Chargers don’t make a move for Cam Newton and even if they draft a quarterback early, Taylor should be the starter next season and if that’s the case, should the Raiders be concerned?
Raiders Blog: How The West Was Won
The AFC West is home to the Super Bowl champs, the Kansas City Chiefs, who have a quarterback that will be haunting the Raiders for years to come. The Broncos themselves have a notable youngster in Drew Lock, who’s no scrub. As far as Taylor’s concerned, he isn’t a chump either. Are we trying to say Taylor will all of a sudden lead the Chargers to the promised land? Probably not. But if the Raiders aren’t careful, they can get burned. From 2015 thru 2017, he held his own in Buffalo. He threw for 51 touchdowns and only 16 interceptions in three years while starting 43 out of 44 games.
Taylor’s Mobility Will Cause Problems
For a defense that is being heavily invested in, it will be up to them to make sure Taylor’s mobility doesn’t cause problems. In particular, the Raiders pass rush which will have a plethora of new reinforcements and that’s not counting any potential draft pickups.
Related: Could The Raiders Look To The Crimson Tide For Help?
For an even closer look at Taylor’s mobility, Daniel Popper of The Athletic recently broke down what Taylor brings to the table.
“If Taylor is starting, Lynn and offensive coordinator Shane Steichen can implement a lot more quarterback movement in the pass game and the run game. Over the past three seasons, the Chargers were really limited in what they could install and call with Philip Rivers, a great pure passer but, especially later in his career, not the fleetest of foot.”
Mobile quarterbacks and tight ends have been the Achilles’ heel of the Raiders defense for years now, and Taylor will only add to that.
“With Taylor, the options are seemingly endless. Zone reads. Speed options. Run-pass options. Bootlegs. The list goes on and on. And Lynn showed a propensity for these types of concepts while calling plays in Buffalo.”
Many will dismiss Taylor as nothing more than a stop gap quarterback and while that might be true, speed kills. The Raiders will have to face him this season, more importantly, and fans will see if the new linebacker corps can stop those speed options and bootlegs. In other words, the Raiders shouldn’t sleep on Taylor.
You May Also Like From This Raiders Blog: An Ideal Linebacker Prospect For The Raiders
