‘Hunger, desire to win’: What Raiders’ Derek Carr is saying about additions on offense
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr already likes what he is seeing from the new additions on offense.
Those additions include running back Kenyan Drake and wide receivers John Brown and Willie Snead IV.
The former Fresno State star had time working with the team’s new players during organized team activities and on the first day of three-day mandatory minicamp Tuesday in Henderson, Nev.
Carr can’t wait for the pads to come to see how his new weapons will look. So far, it is all good.
“They bring some good football in their background,” Carr said. “I think they bring a hunger, a desire to win, which is great. I really feel that we’ve been over the last few years getting guys that have this hunger and desire to win.”
Carr says the Raiders are progressing, but “not at the rate we want to,” so he’s hopeful that “we take another jump.”
The Raiders lost wide receiver Nelson Agholor, who signed a free-agent contract with the New England Patriots. Agholor was the Raiders’ leading wide receiver last season, finishing with 896 yards and eight touchdowns.
Las Vegas then signed Brown (one year, $3.5 million) and Snead (one year, $990,000) to boost the receiving corps, then added Drake (two-year, $11 million) to complement starter Josh Jacobs, who said Tuesday he lobbied for the signing.
Carr said the three players reminded him of players he played with.
Brown is ‘very fast and smart’
Brown, 31, was selected in the third round by the Cardinals in the 2014 NFL draft. He spent his first four NFL seasons with Arizona before signing with the Baltimore Ravens in 2018, followed by a three-year deal with the Buffalo Bills in 2019.
He had two 1,000-yard seasons, the last being in 2019, when he finished with a career-high 1,060 yards with the Bills.
In seven seasons, Brown has 4,748 yards and 31 touchdowns.
“Awesome person, great teammate. Reminds me a lot of Nelson (Agholor),” Carr said. “Very fast, very smart, works hard. But he’s a great person just like Nelly. I think that they are very similar players. So, sad to lose Nelly – love him and wish him the best. Love the guy so much, but happy to get ‘Smoke’ here. Love that guy. Great relationship with him already.”
Drake is ‘super explosive’
Drake, 27, entered the NFL when the Miami Dolphins selected him in the third round of the 2016 draft. He spent three full seasons with the Dolphins before he was traded to Arizona in 2019.
He recorded a career-high 10 rushing touchdowns with the Cardinals last season.
Carr described Drake as a “super fast, super explosive” player.
“Kenyan is a great player,” he said. “I don’t know if we were missing it, but I think he adds just a dimension of just another threat. Him and Jalen Richard are similar. He’s a receiver background. You know how (head) coach (Jon Gruden) likes to throw certain routes to the running backs. I mean, we design plays sometimes to get it to the running back, so he can break a tackle. So, I think KD will be really good at that for us, and he’s a great dude. I’ve really enjoyed being around him.”
Snead has ‘strong hands’
Snead, 28, signed with the Cleveland Browns in 2014 as an undrafted free agent, but he didn’t crack an NFL roster until he joined the New Orleans Saints in 2015. He spent three seasons there before joining the Ravens for the past three seasons.
Snead had a career-high 984 yards his rookie year and his season high in touchdowns is five, coming in 2019 with Baltimore.
Carr says Snead brings back memories of another player that he had success with.
“Reminds me of (Michael) Crabtree’s strong hands,” he said. “Real strong hands, very physical football player. Willie is another guy, a great football player and physical.”
This story was originally published June 15, 2021 at 5:31 PM.
