Oakland Raiders select Fresno St QB Derek Carr 36th overall

Welcome to the NFL rookie! With the 36th overall pick in the NFL draft the Raiders select:

QB Derek Carr out of Fresno St University

Derek Carr was rumored to be the favored prospect of Raiders owner Mark Davis, so much so that there was a rumor that they might even reach and select him with the 5th overall selection. The Raiders selected Buffalo LB Khalil Mack with that first round pick instead but lucky for them Derek was not selected in the 1st round and was still available.

Carr is a very strong armed quarterback that excelled in Fresno St's spread offense, but concerns over whether he could adjust to the NFL knocked him out of the first round. He has excellent character and is surprisingly athletic. He ran the 40 in a very respectable 4.67 time with a 34 1/2 inch vertical jump, not bad for a player more known for his arm than his legs.

Choosing a quarterback in the 2nd round of this draft over some other very talented players still being available signals the belief that Derek Carr is now the QB of the future for the Raiders. He will not be expected to step right in as a rookie as the Raiders have veteran QB Matt Schaub as the starter for this year.

Derek's older brother David Carr also was an NFL QB and was once selected first overall by the Houston Texans. His career didn't quite work out well as he ended up being a bust, but he has been a valuable mentor to Derek all of his life. Hopefully he learned well and will be a great new addition to the Oakland Raiders! Oakland has long been cursed in their drafting of QB's but with a little luck and a lot of effort Derek Carr just might change that trend.