Former Oakland Raiders cornerback Willie Brown reacts as he announces Fresno State quarterback Derek Carr as the 36th pick by the Oakland Raiders in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft, Friday, May 9, 2014, in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)
ALAMEDA, Calif. — The Oakland Raiders drafted their possible quarterback of the future less than two months after acquiring a new starter.
The Raiders drafted Fresno State quarterback Derek Carr with the 36th overall pick in the NFL draft on Friday night to compete with starter Matt Schaub.
“They want me to come in, work hard, compete,” Carr said. “Whenever I’m the quarterback, great. To me, it doesn’t matter what the situation is — if I’m a starter, if I’m a backup, there to learn. My No. 1 goal is to help the Raiders win, and I’m going to do that.”
The Raiders also added help on the offensive line after trading down 14 spots in the third round. Oakland drafted Mississippi State guard Gabe Jackson 81st overall and also added a fourth-round pick from Miami in the deal, 116th overall.
Oakland traded a sixth-round pick to Houston in March to acquire Schaub and immediately named him the starter. In an interesting twist, Schaub replaced Carr’s older brother, David, as starter in Houston. David Carr was the first draft pick ever for the Texans in 2002 and started five seasons there before being let go.
“I learned everything that he did right and everything that he did wrong,” Carr said. “He told me that if he could do anything, he hopes he made the path smoother for me as I transition into the NFL.”
Derek Carr was one of the most productive quarterbacks in college football last season. He threw for 5,083 yards and 50 touchdowns with only eight interceptions in a spread offense at Fresno State that included many quick screens and almost exclusively shotgun formations. He also won the 2013 Sammy Baugh Award, which goes to the nation’s top passer.
Carr is one of just 19 quarterbacks in FBS history to throw for more than 10,000 career yards and 100 touchdowns. His ratio of 113 touchdown passes to 24 interceptions is the second highest in FBS history for all quarterbacks with at least 100 career touchdown passes.
Carr played in a pro-style offense under former coach Pat Hill in 2011 and was considered to have one of the strongest arms in the draft and was a possible first-round pick. Carr lasted until early in the second round and the Raiders pounced when he was still there despite having already added Schaub.
“He’s a young quarterback,” Raiders director of personnel Joey Clinkscales said. “We aren’t expecting him to walk in the door and be the starter. We have a starter. So whenever that time occurs we’re confident the kid will be ready to play.”
“You just sit there and wait for your phone to ring,” Carr said. “It’s weird. You sit there, you hope it rings with every pick that goes by. But I got to be honest, the way it worked out, the place I’m going and the coaches and players I’ll be around, I couldn’t be happier.”
This marked the second straight year the Raiders traded for a potential starting quarterback before drafting another. Neither of last year’s acquisitions worked out as Matt Flynn was beaten out by Terrelle Pryor for the starting job and eventually released after coming over from Seattle. Fourth-round pick Tyler Wilson did not make the roster out of training camp, having been beaten out by undrafted free agent Matt McGloin.
This is the fourth time since 1981 the Raiders have taken a quarterback in the first two rounds, having taken Todd Marinovich (1991) and JaMarcus Russell (2007) in the first round and Marques Tuiasosopo (2001) in the second round.
Jackson will add to an overhauled offensive line that also includes free-agent tackle Donald Penn and guards Austin Howard and Kevin Boothe.
Jackson was a four-time all-SEC selection who started 52 games and is known as a power blocker.
“‘I think he can come in and play pretty early,” Clinkscales said. “I think he’s a powerful, physical young man. When you’re building a guard, physically, that’s what they look like. Once he gets on the field and starts competing, we’ll see how it turns out.”
The Raiders previously took linebacker Khalil Mack with their first-round pick Thursday.
———
AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP—NFL
