Tim Brown shares how Raiders QB Derek Carr should handle Jon Gruden's offense

If anyone knows a thing or two about Jon Gruden it would be Hall of Fame wide receiver Tim Brown.

Brown, who is a SiriusXM NFL Radio analyst, played 16 seasons with the Raiders — three with Gruden in Oakland.

Brown has been following the Raiders closely since Gruden was introduced in January as the head coach for a second time with the Raiders.

Brown says every player on the team will flourish under Gruden, particularly quarterback Derek Carr and wide receiver Amari Cooper.

"I think if I'm Derek Carr, I am at this particular point putting my career in Jon Gruden's hands and saying, 'I saw what you did with guys who people may say didn't have as much talent as I have or have as much success as I've had in the league, so let's go.'" Brown said in an exclusive interview this week. "'Whatever you say, I'm going to do, and let's see how this thing rides out.'"

Brown said he believes the pieces are in place for the Raiders to succeed now.

"They changed offensive coordinators last year and everything just never got on track," Brown said. "With the young guys, veteran guys and the superstar players he has on this team ... I think he'll be able to get some things done and get this moving in the right direction pretty quickly."

Age is a contrasting factor between this year and Gruden's first go-round with the Raiders . He was 34 when he replaced Joe Bugel in 1998 and inherited a roster with 19 players over age 30, including the then-32-year-old Brown.

Brown took note of the young talent on this year's roster, especially the 27-year-old Carr and 24-year-old Cooper. "For him to get Jon Gruden at this stage of his career should be awesome," Brown said.

Quarterback Rich Gannon enjoyed success playing for Gruden from 1999-2001 and continued to flourish the next season, when he was NFL MVP at age 37 and led the Raiders to Super Bowl XXXVII, losing to the Gruden-led Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Brown cited one thing that Carr needs to do in Gruden's offense to be successful:

"This offense made Gannon an MVP quarterback," Brown said. "Rich will tell you that he doesn't have the arm like Derek Carr has, especially when he got to the Raiders. Rich was incredible moving around the pocket and that's one thing Derek has to do in this offense. He's going to have to run it once in a while, and he has the ability to do that. That will open the offense for him."

Brown projects big things for Carr: "I think he has the ability to be MVP. He was up for MVP a couple years ago until he got hurt. I think this offense will give him more opportunities to do just that."

This story was originally published June 23, 2018 at 11:52 AM.