There have not been many bright spots in the 2014 season of the Oakland Raiders. It was all-around much of the same for Raider Nation. However, one thing that came out of this year was the potential of a franchise quarterback in Derek Carr. The Raiders opted to sign Matt Schaub in the offseason believing he would be the starter for the next few seasons. However, injuries forced Carr into the spotlight and while the wins are not there, the potential and hope for the future is.
It was clear that Carr could have a very successful future ahead of him when he tossed four touchdown passes to shock the San Francisco 49ers with a win. The quarterback finished the day going 22 of 28 for 254 yards executing a perfectly balanced offense. While team sits at 2-11 on the season, Carr is proof that hope is on the horizon if the Raiders invest wisely into playmakers that will help the quarterback excel.
"I know the kind of talent we have, I know the kind of team we have," Carr said, via CSNBayArea.com "Like I said before, we haven't put it together, obviously, throughout the season, we're young, we're continuing to work hard and listen to our coaches and the game plan and knowing it in and out. Obviously there are still mistakes, but I think that there was just so much attention to the detail that we just went out and did our job."
Carr is not the only bright spot to emerge on the Raiders team. With Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew struggling to stay afloat on their one-year contracts, Latavius Murray has taken hold of the added responsibilities of the ground game. In three games, he has 231 yards on 31 carries. Alongside Murray, tight end Mychal Rivera is proving to be a reliable target in his second year with the team. The Raiders are struggling with no true star wide receiver on the team, but Rivera is making plays all over the field, looking like a solid safety blanket for Carr. Currently averaging 9.7 yards per catch, Rivera is only getting better with the attention.
The Raiders are likely to lock up either the first or second pick in the NFL Draft barring any more wins on the season. Most mock drafts at this point have the Raiders selecting wide receiver Amari Cooper over Marcus Mariota or Jameis Winston as long as the team commits to Carr. There was discussion that Oakland could get active in the Robert Griffin III or Johnny Manziel trade talk, but Carr's play on Sunday shows that will not be necessary.
