Derek Carr (QB, LV) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 2QB Leagues

OWNED IN: 19% of Leagues

ANALYSIS: Derek Carr finished his sixth year with the Raiders with arguably the best performance of his career. Carr had his second consecutive season with over 4,000 passing yards. The 29-year-old as had a 21/8 touchdown to interception ratio and set a career-high for completion percentage (70.4).

Carr finished as QB17 with 15.77 points per week during the 2019 fantasy season. The Raiders added an array of weapons in the passing game, picking up Nelson Agholor in free agency and drafting Henry Ruggs III out of Alabama in the first round and Bryan Edwards out of South Carolina in the third round. These players will slot in nicely to 2019 standouts Josh Jacobs, Darren Waller, and Hunter Renfrow.

The Raiders find themselves facing the Carolina Panthers week one. The Panthers spent the 2020 offseason overhauling their offense while relying mainly on the draft to add talent to the defense. Ultimately, the Panthers spent seven draft picks on the defensive side of the ball, but only first-round defensive tackle Derrick Brown figures to start.

The linebacking corps and secondary are filled with unproven players, making them a fantastic week one matchup. Carr has some of the best yards after the catch weapons in the league, and this game may turn into a track meet with a projected over/under of 46.5.

The Raiders have a very rough stretch of games after week one, so Carr would be more of a short term solution if you don’t like your starting quarterback’s matchup in the opening week. Ultimately, we don’t know how well he will utilize his new weapons in the air attack, making him a decent stash unless you have to add players to offset injuries as weeks go on.

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