Derek Carr has reached a plateau
The jury is no longer out on Carr. He’s exactly what we have seen over his seven-year career. He is a good, above-average starting quarterback. He gives the occasional performance that is of a high standard, and the occasional performance that is below par. You can confidently pencil him in as a quarterback that hovers around the top ten to twelve in the league. He is by no means a bad quarterback.
But good was never good enough for Al Davis. In that 30 for 30, footage of Davis showed the former owner asserting that all he ever wanted to do was “dominate”. When speaking of his offensive philosophy, Davis noted that ‘I hear everyone say it…take what they give you… I always went the other way, we’re gonna take what we want.’ If you don’t think Al Davis would want to take a flyer on Deshaun Watson, you’re kidding yourself.
The prevailing argument against trading for Watson is that a) the price is too steep and b) the Raiders’ issue is the defense, not the quarterback. Keep in mind that arguing for an upgrade at quarterback is not an argument against upgrading the defense. It is perfectly possible to accomplish both. In fact, if the Raiders are able to get two first-round picks for Carr, and package that with two of their own for Watson, they’d really only be giving up two first-rounders for Watson. That is undoubtedly a bargain.
The Raiders haven’t hit on their first-rounders
People might be averse to trading away first-rounders, but picks are only as good as the players chosen with them. Look at the Raiders’ five first-round choices over the last two years. Josh Jacobs might be said to be the only sure-fire hit. Johnathan Abram has had flashes, albeit struggles too. Henry Ruggs has flashed serious potential, but he has been misused. Clelin Ferrell and Damon Arnette have both struggled to make an impact that warrants their selection.
Of those five first-rounders, the Raiders drafted one player who has had an immediate and profound impact on the team. That’s a 20% success rate. Not that the other players are not successes, they just haven’t shown it yet.
[tps_title]Up Next: Would Watson be worth it?[/tps_title]