Fantasy Football Today - 🚨 Derek Carr Released! Fantasy Impact, Best Destinations and More (02/14 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Episode Date: February 14, 2023

Fantasy Football Today is available for free on the Audacy app as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and wherever else you listen to podcasts.  We discuss what Derek Carr has left at this point in his career, which wide receivers might benefit from his arrival, how Fantasy managers might perceive Carr in 2023, what this means for Davante Adams and plenty more.  Follow our FFT team on Twitter: @FFToday, @AdamAizer, @JameyEisenberg, @daverichard, @heathcummingssr, @ctowerscbs Follow the brand new FFT TikTok account: https://www.tiktok.com/@fftoday Watch FFT on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/fantasyfootballtoday Get 20% off Fantasy Football Today merch: https://store.cbssports.com/collections/fantasy-football-today%20?utm_source=podcast-apple-com&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=buy-our-merch&utm_content=fantasy-football-collection Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/FantasyFootballToday/ Sign up for the FFT newsletter https://www.cbssports.com/newsletter You can listen to Fantasy Football Today on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Football Today podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Football Today podcast." To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Visit amex.ca slash business platinum. Well, in 2021, Derek Carr averaged 282.6 passing yards per game. That was sixth best in the NFL. In 2022, that went down to 234.8 passing yards per game. Wow, almost 50 fewer yards per game. 15th best in the NFL in 2022. Is he done? What does he have left in the tank?

Where will he end up? The Raiders have released Derek Carr, a guy who will be 32 years old in March, and obviously had a disappointing season, but hopefully has more left to give to the fantasy community. Alright, I'm Adam Azer with Dave Richard and Jamie Eisenberg. Bonus pod for you here on a Tuesday afternoon. Happy Valentine's Day,

guys! Happy Valentine's Day. Yeah, Dave. Valentine. What's up? It's Tuesday. Okay, it's Tuesday. Fair enough. First question. Is there any place, let's make this about Carr first. Is there any place Derek Carr could go that would make you rank him

in the top 15? Well, the betting odds have him going to Carolina, which is interesting. After he told them no? After he said no thanks to a visit? No, no, after he said no, thanks to a visit. No, no,

no, no. That's just the betting odds, you know? So I, I, you know, you always follow Vegas trends cause they're always right.

So I, I think, you know, you look at Carolina, you look in new Orleans, those are the two most likely destinations at this point. Unless he's really going to play the waiting game and see if Aaron Rogers goes someplace first to the Raiders and leaves,

you know, and an additional opening for him to maybe exploreiders and leaves, you know, an additional opening for him to maybe explore. So no, to answer your question, there's no place that's going to make him a top 15 quarterback for me. But I still think he could end up being one of those guys that in two QB leagues could be a starter, super flex leagues could be a starter, and can certainly be in the streaming conversation if you whiff on quarterbacks and have to play the roulette game during

the season. Yeah, I can't imagine people are going to rank him in the top 15, Dave, but just generally speaking, if you do look at Derek Carr, if you look at his completion percentage, 60.8% after four straight years above 67%, absolutely terrible. Yards per attempt, one of the lowest, second lowest of his career, a Third lowest, actually. His rookie year was worse. But I mean, he looked like just, I don't know. It was ugly. It was ugly statistically. But he had some really good moments as well. Do you think he can just go back to being Derek Carr? A solid quarterback that's good for receivers, good for a quality tight end, a fantasy plus, put it that way. He needs to go back to a West coast offense.

I think changing offenses and trying Josh McDaniel system didn't work out for him. And we we've heard in the past that it takes a little while for a quarterback to get acclimated to that type of system. And he needed a lot more time than maybe we gave him credit for. And the Raiders didn't want to give him that much time. So if he goes to an offense where they run something that he's much more familiar with, then I would imagine that his completion rate will go back up. His yards per game will also go back up. But here's the point

that I would make about Derek Carr. He has one season in his career with more than 20 fantasy points per game. That's it. And it was the year when he had Cooper and Crabtree and, uh, Cooper had over a thousand yards and six touchdowns. Crabtree, I think at nine touchdowns, it's 2015. It's a while ago.

So I, I, I don't think there's anything exciting here to take away other than saying that Derek Carr is going to be a nice and maybe nice is too strong of a word. QB two, uh, he'll be a top 24 quarterback pretty much

wherever he ends up but he'll be toward the low end of that and i don't know how many more times we'll be able to say that derrick carr is anything more than like jamie said streaming passer what's the best destination for him him or any quarterback? Cincinnati. I mean, I guess, you know, if you look at the available options, assuming that, you know, Lamar Jackson doesn't leave, Atlanta obviously has some pluses, you know, just based on the two top pass casters there. The Jets, for sure, you know, looking at Garrett Wilson and Elijah Moore and what the offense could be there. I think Newleans is still a little bit of a sleeper destination because i

don't know if we've seen the best of chris alava you know we certainly saw some some upside there and it's worth you know buying into what he can become as a number one guy plus you know a speed threat and rashid shaheed and michael thomas for some reason ends up staying um so that's kind of a sleeper spot which you know you know, makes some sense. Like Carolina to me feels like it's going to be another Baker Mayfield situation, you know, better version of that,

but you know, just another retread guy that's trying to make do with what they have left there, which is basically DJ more in some potential, this potential that, you know, so there's really not an attractive landing spot where he's leaving Devante Adams,

Darren Waller and Hunter Renfro and going to someplace that's better. Agreed. So it's funny that you mentioned that. I think the Raiders are the best spot for any quarterback. He's obviously not going there. I think Tampa Bay is next best provided that Mike Evans stays and they don't cut him or trade him because he's got a big cap number and that they figure out that offensive line because there's going to be some pieces that change. And we still aren't sure who's the play caller is going to be, but I think that those are the top two destinations, the Raiders and the Buccaneers. Other teams that you mentioned, the Panthers, man, Frank Reich has been through

with a bunch of veteran quarterbacks already. I'm not sure if he would really prefer to have Derek Carr compared to having the chance of working with a young quarterback. Maybe he gets both. That's a possibility. And Jim Irsay kind of tipped his hand that the Colts were going to go with a young quarterback and draft a guy in this year's draft. And that means that Indianapolis is out. Not that Indianapolis would be the best destination for Derek Carr, but just two, two places that I would be surprised if Carr actually went to.

Nobody mentioned Washington. What do you think about Washington? I think we've talked about this a little bit, you know, on a previous show, like they seem pretty committed to Sam Howell at this point, you know, and not going to put a bandaid on it again,

you know, so, you know, it may be Sam Howell and another, another young quarterback. So I just don't see it after what they, you know, did to, to bring in Carson Wentz and, um, going that route again, just based on what you're hearing, you know, I mean, you know, you just haven't heard his name, Derek Carr's name, really any of these guys associated to Washington. Okay. This is really interesting. There are a lot of teams that need a quarterback. Here are the top eight teams in cap space, according to Spotrack.

Spotrack? S-P-O-T-R-A-C. Bears, Falcons, Raiders, Giants, Texans, Bengals, Seahawks, Patriots. How about the Patriots? I don't know. Yeah, it'll be interesting to see where he goes. Now, we'll move on from that, and we'll, of course, react when he signs somewhere.

Is there any scenario that you would knock Devontae Adams out of your top six at wide receiver? If Jared Stidham is their starter. I know. He had a really big game with Stidham against their starter. I know. He had a really big game with Stidham against the Niners, no less. He did, but he also had a pretty miserable game with Stidham, too.

I think, for me, it would be... He would still be a top-ten guy, but I'd put CeeDee Lamb ahead of him in that scenario. Okay. If Carr goes to Carolina or goes to the Jets, how big of an upgrade are you thinking goes to the Saints? Take one of these teams that had bad quarterback play last year,

gets Derek Carr. Dave, what would your reaction be to Garrett Wilson, DJ Moore, Chris Olave, any wide receiver that's kind of in that range? I think he can still help one receiver get good numbers and kind of obvious to say that he just did that with Devante Adams this year, Waller and past years, even though Waller's a tight end, you know, he's more of a wide receiver. So I think he can connect and get one guy there. I'm not sure if he'll be in a position to do it with two pass catchers moving forward. So if he goes to new Orleans, should be good to all for a lobby, really wouldn't love anybody

else in that offense. If he goes to the jets, it would really be good for Garrett Wilson. Wouldn't love it so much for anybody else. If he goes to Carolina, Hey, it should be good for DJ more where we heard that before, but it wouldn't be great for Terrace Marshall to have his breakout season or anything like that. So that's really what I'm looking for. But it wouldn't be great for Terrace Marshall to have his breakout season or anything like that. So that's really what I'm looking for.

And that would be the case even if he goes. What would be interesting, if he did go to Tampa Bay and they have Mike Evans, could he make it work with both of them? In PPR, I'll say yes. In non-PPR, I'd be a little more nervous about both of them being top 15-ish. They weren't top 15 this year in full PPR per game. Both of them being top 15 ish. They weren't top 15 this year, uh, in, in full PPR per game, both of them weren't. So I'd be a little nervous about that. Even if he did go to Tampa. Yeah. Jamie, I wonder how people are going to react to, to him, wherever he ends up, wherever Derek Carr ends up. I feel like if this happened a year ago, he was coming off a really

strong season and kind of the MO on car was he's throwing for a lot of yards and he's really good on a yards per attempt basis. Like from 2019 to 2021, Carr finished ninth, fifth and sixth in yards per attempt. Last year, he finished 18th. So the MO was like, oh, he can give you the yards. He just doesn't throw touchdowns. Then they bring in Devontae Adams, and lo and behold, his touchdown rate goes up, but the yards go way down. I guess my point is, we've sort of just kind of made it seem like he wouldn't be that much better than Baker Mayfield going to the Panthers, or Sam Dardle going to the Panthers. But based on his career, Derek Carr deserves a lot more credit than that.

So I'm just wondering if people are looking at this last year, which was certainly a struggle for him, and basically thinking he's done. Because if he went to the Panthers, let's say, a year ago, we would have been extremely excited for DJ Moore based on what Derek Carr has done throughout his career. You know what I'm saying? He is going to be judged harshly, I think, by this past year,

and maybe that is accurate, but it will be a lot different than what it was a year ago before this bad season with McDaniels. I think every franchise is probably going to have a different feeling on this, you know, so in Tampa Bay, for example, where they're not going to have a high draft pick, not going to get a chance to get one of the premier rookies, you know, depending on how the draft goes, they probably think that Derek Carr can keep them, especially in that division, a very competitive team, you know, so their, their fan base is obviously not gonna be thrilled, but they're, they're probably okay with it, you know, and I think, correct me if I'm wrong, but we kind of, you know, address this a little bit when we

were talking about Derek Carr to the, the commanders the last time we brought this up. My feeling on it is, and, you know, kind of the way we talked about the last time we brought this up my feeling on it is and you know kind of the way we talked about the last time his his situation going there it just it doesn't i don't feel put any team right now of the of the teams in need over the top i just don't think he's that type of player right now he may certainly get a team there he could do it but i just don't feel that way and so i think most fan bases are going to be like, oh, it's just another Matt Ryan to the Colts, Carson Wentz to the Commanders, you know, that type of player. Baker Mayfield to the Panthers is not a long-term, this is a difference-making type of player. Or it's not a Tom

Brady that, you know, you're getting a guy that you know can get, you know, Aaron Rodgers going to the Raiders. They're going to feel like they can win a Super Bowl with him there just because of what type of player he is. So I think every fan base will kind of feel different. I think for fantasy managers and how they feel about their respective players, I think Dave hit it on the head that, you know, you're looking at, yes, one guy should still be successful. Maybe two guys can be successful because, you know, we go back two years ago, he still was getting great production from Darren Waller and Hunter Renfro, you know. So he was able to support two guys, not to the extreme heights that you were getting from Crabtree and Cooper, but still good enough, and it's going to depend on the players.

Like Dave said, with Tampa Bay, Evans and Godwin, I think they're great enough players that those guys can still produce with a guy that's competent enough. So system will matter. Coach will matter. Offensive line will certainly matter. Weapons will matter. He will probably be a good enough quarterback to get a team into playoff contention, but I don't think he's going to be a guy that takes a team on a long playoff run to help that particular franchise. Right. But the three examples that you gave Wentz to the Commanders, Ryan to the Colts, Baker Mayfield to the Panthers, those were all terrible. We didn't know how bad they would be. Okay. Russell Wilson to the Broncos. Yeah, right. I think fantasy managers are going to react as if he's probably,

I don't know, this is speculation. I think they could react as if he's not going to do that much for DJ Moore or Garrett Wilson or something because of all the new quarterbacks last year and how much they struggled. And maybe they'll be right. I'll probably be a little bit more optimistic than that. I still think Carr is a good player. But I think maybe, Dave, maybe the sour taste that is left from 2022 with those four quarterbacks bombing with new teams will carry over to wherever Derek Carr ends up. And I think some of the NFL teams will remember that too, and that may make them hesitant

to have Derek Carr on their roster for a huge chunk of money, which is another part of the equation. And maybe a lot of these teams get a little gun-shy about paying him that much, and he has to settle a little bit. I'd be surprised if that happens. He feels like the guy that you go and get

if you can't get Aaron Rodgers and you can't draft a quarterback. That's what you're left with. Or what is Lamar Jackson? Or Lamar Jackson. I'm assuming Lamar is staying in Baltimore. Just remember this. Devontae Adams was number six in PPR points per game last year with Derek Arthur on most of the year. The team that makes the most sense to me is New Orleans because Carolina, I can't, I can't fathom a situation where they don't draft the guy based on where

they're sitting right now. Yeah. No. So if he's looking at it as, okay, I got maybe a three-year window left to still be a starting quarterback in this league and maybe get a team into the playoff position. It's an indoor environment. It's a division that's crappy right now. It's got still good enough players around them, depending on Kamara's situation, but clearly a defense that's

fantastic. And so there's just, to me, that's the, that's the perfect destination. And if he really wanted to help his new team and not screw his new team, he did it the right way, rejecting any trade proposal. So they don't have to give up capital to get him. And he was going to get a contract extension no matter where he's going anyway. So, you know, if that's what he was trying to do, as you know, you kind of read through the lines of what his agent said, that it's a business. We appreciate the Raiders, all those things. That to me feels like the scenario of if he was going to New Orleans all along. All right, guys, we'll leave it at that.

We got another show for you tomorrow. We can get Heath's reaction to this. Actually, I don't think Heath will be on tomorrow, so maybe we won't talk too much about this tomorrow, but we do have coaching news to get to on tomorrow's episode. Just want to, you know, Thomas Schaefer, our producer, pointing out, here's something from CBS Sports Research.

In 10 career, you know, if he goes to the Jets, if he goes to the Commanders or whatever, 10 career games that were played in 40 degrees or colder, Derek Carr is 3-7, 11 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 5.6 yards per attempt, 57% completion rate, 69.2 passer rating. And one other stat that I saw on ESPN, 12-44 in his career against playoff teams.

That's that makes new Orleans or Tampa Bay appealing destinations. Both of those trends, warmer climate in Tampa, indoors in new Orleans, and the division is ripe for the taking Carolina too. Yeah. All right. Thank you to Dave and Jamie and Thomas.

Thanks for tuning into this bonus pod. And we'll talk to you tomorrow with another full-length episode of Fantasy Football Today.