Derek Carr led the Raiders to a 27-20 victory over the Browns on Sunday amid a strong performance that saw him complete 20 of 32 passes for 314 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Though he was buoyed greatly by the presence of Amari Cooper, he showed off his rifle arm and deft touch on touchdown passes to Seth Roberts and Andre Holmes.
It was enough steam to keep the Carr hype train moving for another week, but after hearing Browns defensive back Tramon Williams break it down, Carr might be much more than a passing fad.
"I don't throw this name around too often, but he kind of seems to have a skill set similar to Aaron (Rodgers), and that's saying something," Williams said via Cleveland.com. "Obviously we don't know if he's going to turn out to be that player, but skill set-wise, he can move, he can do the whole nine, he has a strong arm, a quick release and he can read defenses as a young quarterback. He can make it to that first, that second, that third read.
"He's going to be a good quarterback for a long time in this league."
If Sunday proved anything, it was that Carr can operate in the face of some manic blitzes. He can also operate around difficult press coverage situations and still find a way to get the ball to his playmakers.
As for the Aaron Rodgers comparison, we'll let it slide. Williams played in Green Bay for nine seasons and sometimes frame of reference can be skewed.
But Carr is leaving no doubt that, so far, he's been the best of the bunch selected in a 2014 class that included Teddy Bridgewater, Blake Bortles and Johnny Manziel. Cleveland had the chance to draft him three times before he went No. 36 overall to the Raiders.