Derek Carr, quarterback of the Las Vegas Raiders, and his brother, David, appeared on NFL Network on Friday morning to discuss the Silver and Black. He touched on a lot of things, such as the team’s new additions, competition in the AFC West, and the work being put in by guys like Darren Waller and Josh Jacobs. He actually elaborated on Jacobs more.
Derek Carr is ‘Very Excited’ For Josh Jacobs
“Josh is someone I’m very excited for… He’s someone who’s working extremely hard to get in the best shape that he can be in because he knows that with all these weapons, maybe he’ll have a lot of games where teams are just gonna say, ‘Well, all right, Josh, you beat us.'”
It sounds like Carr is looking forward to giving the ball to a hungry Jacobs. This will come in handy when opposing teams are forced to respect the passing game. The task of covering Waller, Hunter Renfrow, and Davante Adams is going to be a daunting one for every team the Raiders play this year. That could cause them to go for broke on coverage and force Jacobs to beat them.
Should Raider Nation be Getting Excited About This Too?
Personally, I think Carr has a real point here. It is hard to see how teams can cover all of the Raiders’ weapons in a base defense with six or seven guys in the box. Carr and company should probably expect to see a lot of sub packages this year. That could lead to a lot of opportunities for Jacobs.
However, the Raiders had a strong passing attack last season and it did not help the run game much. This was because the offensive line was totally incapable of creating lanes for Jacobs to run through. This year, the offensive line might be better. That is mostly contingent upon how much the players from last year’s group improve.
Betting on Alex Leatherwood to all of a sudden become a quality right tackle is treacherous. One thing that helps is that the passing game will be far scarier than last year’s. This should help the offensive line a lot. As long as he has blocking, Jacobs could have a huge year as he vies for a new contract.
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*Top Photo: Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
