The Raiders wasted little time in replacing their long-time quarterback Derek Carr (now a New Orleans Saint). They all but signed Jimmy Garoppolo on the first day of the NFL’s “legal tampering” period. The deal will be official on Wednesday, but is apparently worth $67.5 million over three years. Is Garoppolo a suitable replacement for Carr? How will he fit in the Raiders’ offense? And what does the move mean for Las Vegas’ pass catchers? RotoViz tools like the Advanced Team Stat Explorer and the AYA App can help us make more sense of this move.
The Offensive Contexts
When looking at Carr’s new team, we noted that the Raiders’ offensive line was among the weaker units in the league, ranking inside the bottom 10 in blown block percentage on passing snaps. The 49ers, however, had one of the strongest offensive lines on passing snaps — they ranked No. 6 overall in terms of avoiding blown blocks.
Partly as a result of their offensive line play, the 49ers boasted one of the most effective passing attacks in the league. Only three teams were better in terms of EPA per attempt. Only two teams had a positive EPA result on a higher percentage of pass attempts.
And they were also efficient. Only the Chiefs, Dolphins, and Eagles averaged more raw yards per pass attempt, and only the Chiefs averaged more adjusted net yards per attempt.
Adjusting for Offensive Scheme
This would appear to be a downgrade for Garoppolo. However,
