The Oakland Raiders finally got a win. When things were looking grim, the team showed up at home on Thursday night to get a win over the Kansas City Chiefs, their first of the season. The Raiders ended a 16-game losing streak behind the arm of rookie quarterback Derek Carr. However, one win does not change the fact that the Raiders could easily clean house in the offseason which may or may not include Carr. According to wide receiver James Jones, Carr is the man for the long-term.
Carr's stats did not blow anyone away, but he did enough to get the win. The quarterback finished going 18 of 35 for 174 yards and one touchdowns. Latavius Murray gets a lot of the credit for the win after the running back put up 112 yards off four carries for two touchdowns. However, Jones wants to make sure that no one is overlooking the rookie quarterback as he says Carr's leadership reminds him of Aaron Rodgers.
"Carr's an unbelievable leader," Jones said, NFL.com. "He's one of those young guys that acts like he's 30 already. He has a great feel for the team, great feel for the game. He's gonna be a special player. When I was in Green Bay, and he was at Fresno State, my receivers coach, Keith Williams, used to coach at Fresno State, so I always used to go there to train. And I used to catch balls from Derek, and worked out with Derek, and I started calling him 'Baby Aa-Rod' at Fresno State. This kid has all the potential in the world to be a special player, so I'm glad we finally got him on the winning side last night."
Presumably, Carr is the quarterback for the future. The Raiders did not intend for him to start right away, but an injury to Matt Schaub put the rookie in the spotlight sooner than the team was anticipating. His rookie struggles will likely not hurt his future as the starting quarterback in years to come. However, if the Raiders earn the No. 1 draft pick, will they be tempted to grab someone like Marcus Mariota or Jameis Winston?
NFL Draft expert Mel Kiper Jr has Mariota at the top of his 2015 mock draft. Will the Raiders take a quarterback or will they take a playmaker like Amari Cooper out of Alabama? The Raiders could easily retain Carr and sign someone like Mark Sanchez or Michael Vick to help push Carr next year. They have option and must decide where Carr fits into them.
