Did the Raiders upgrade the QB position this offseason?
The Raiders made a big gamble this offseason, moving off of Derek Carr and signing Jimmy Garoppolo. While neither are viewed as top-10 quarterbacks in the NFL (at least going into the 2023 season), but have been very successful over the last few years.
But for some, the move felt like a step back as Carr has been able to stay on the field and is a bit more dynamic as a passer. However, not everyone agrees that the Raiders got worse at QB this offseason.
In a recent article by Paul Gutierrez of ESPN, he broke down each position on offense for the Raiders to see if they improved or got worse this offseason. In the quarterback section, Gutierrez came to the conclusion that the Raiders did upgrade at quarterback this year as Garoppolo is just a better fit in the offense under Josh McDaniels.
One of the ways that Gutierrez came to this conclusion was due to the fact that Garoppolo has been much more effective in the red zone over the last five years. Here is a snippet of why Gutierrez believes Garoppolo will be an upgrade over Carr:
Consider: Last season, among 31 qualified QBs, Garoppolo’s red zone QBR of 69 ranked 10th, while Carr’s red zone QBR of 54 was 21st, per ESPN Stats & Information.
And including the playoffs, Carr’s 15 career red zone interceptions are tied with Ryan Tannehill for the most in the NFL since Carr entered the league in 2014. Since 2018, Carr has committed the second-most red zone turnovers among the 28 QBs with at least 150 pass attempts in the red zone.
Garoppolo is a safer, more conservative quarterback by nature. He doesn’t throw a ton of interceptions, but he also doesn’t take a lot of chances down the field either.
Is giving up some big plays worth it if it means fewer turnovers? We shall see, but that is pretty clearly the philosophy that the Raiders are rolling within the 2023 season.