After a strong open to the season, New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr has risen up the NFL QB rankings. NFL.com’s Around the NFL writer Nick Shook writes a weekly quarterback rankings and was impressed with the performance Carr put on versus the Carolina Panthers.
After opening the year at No. 20, Carr is now ranked at No. 17. While no one is saying Carr is in the upper echelon of the league, that small rise is the difference from being in the average class to below. Carr’s 200 yards don’t jump off the screen. He was efficient and paired his yardage with 3 passing touchdowns. Here’s what Shook had to say about his performance:
I caution everyone to avoid overreacting to Week 1, but it sure was refreshing to see Carr have some fun playing football. After trudging through most of the 2023 season, Carr had new life in the Saints’ season opener, letting it fly with no fear and cashing in each time via a 59-yard touchdown strike to Rashid Shaheed, a risky floater to Foster Moreau while scrambling, and a rollout toss to Juwan Johnson for a third score. Carr’s stat line matched the ease with which he operated against the lowly Panthers, but I can guarantee the going will be tougher in the weeks ahead. We’ll see if Carr can carry this momentum into more difficult matchups.
Now Carr walks into one of those more difficult matchups on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys are simply a better team than the Panthers with Pro Bowl and All-Pro talent on defense. The offensive line will have deal with a more dynamic pass rush and more dangerous secondary.
The Saints offensive line was last week’s pivot point, and they’ll be even more important this week. Carr will also have to look out for the Cowboys’ cornerbacks who have reputations as ballhawks. Trevon Diggs led the league in interceptions in 2021, and DaRon Bland did the same last year.
A good performance this week should put Carr in the top half of the rankings. Let’s see if he can get it done on Sunday.
