CJ Carr, grandson of former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, is highlighted as a potential top-10 pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. Despite a shaky freshman season where his footwork and pocket presence were concerns, Carr has shown increased confidence this offseason. If he plays faster this year with more starting experience, he could elevate his draft stock significantly. Other potential breakout candidates mentioned include Fernando Mendoza, Arvell Reese, David Bailey, and Katin Houser
Derek Carr has joined UCLA football as a special advisor, focusing on offensive strategy. He expressed strong confidence in head coach Bob Chesney, describing him as a capable leader
Derek Carr is returning to football. But not as a player. As a sort-of coach. UCLA announced that it has hired the former Raiders and Saints quarterback to serve as a “special advisor” to head coach Bob Chesney. Carr will help Chesney and the offensive staff with game-planning. Carr also will work with the UCLA quarterbacks. A second-round pick in 2014, Carr has no ties to UCLA. He played college football at Fresno State. But UCLA General Manager Darrick Yray was an assistant at Fresno State when Carr played there. “I’ve known Darrick for a long time and have great respect for the work he’s done throughout his career,” Carr said. “The opportunity to help Coach Chesney, the staff and the quarterbacks at UCLA was one that really excited me. I’m looking forward to sharing my experiences and helping support the program in any way I can.” Carr, who last played in 2024, has mused about possibly returning to the NFL. Any team that would be interested in adding Carr would have to strike a deal with the Saints, who still hold his rights
The Giants have spent the better part of a decade looking for Eli Manning's replacement. The Saints have taken nearly as long trying to find life after Hall of Famer Drew Brees . Different cities, different organizations, same question: did they finally get their guy? New York cycled through names like Daniel Jones , Tommy DeVito and Russell Wilson before handing the offense to Jaxson Dart . In New Orleans, the list included Teddy Bridgewater , Jameis Winston , Derek Carr and Spencer Rattler before turning to Tyler Shough . Every move started with guarded optimism and ended with the search continuing. This time feels different. Not because Dart and Shough are guaranteed to become franchise quarterbacks, but because their rookie seasons in 2025 resembled those of quarterbacks who historically took major steps forward in their sophomore campaigns. Giants and Saints fans have heard such promises before. This time, there are reasons to believe. Quarterbacks don't usually break out because they throw for 4,000 yards as rookies. They break out because they already show the traits that consistently translate -- efficiency comes before production and limiting mistakes comes before stardom. The breakout usually arrives later, a function of everything else coming together. To see how Year 2 often unfolds, I looked at every quarterback since 2010 who started at least eight games as a rookie and tracked what happened in his second season. The quarterbacks who break out in Year 2 don't all get there the same way. But history shows a few recurring paths. The Launch Justin Herbert +0.13 +0.17 Elite rookie became an even better Year 2 quarterback. The Rescue Trevor Lawrence -0.09 +0.12 Coaching change unlocked his talent. The Plateau Mac Jones +0.04 -0.09 Offensive coaching change disrupted his development. The Regression Dak Prescott +0.23 -0.04 Supporting cast and offensive environment deteriorated. The Injury Robert Griffin III +0.22 +0.02 Knee injury fundamentally altered his trajectory. The lesson isn't that every quarterback falls into one of these distinct categories. It's that context matters as much as talent. Herbert built on an outstanding rookie season. Lawrence took off once Jacksonville got the coach right. Prescott regressed when the offense around him regressed ( Ezekiel Elliott was suspended, the offensive line was banged up). Mac Jones lost momentum after an offensive overhaul that included losing coordinator Josh McDaniels. And Griffin's trajectory changed because of injury late in his rookie season. Development is rarely linear, and it's almost never isolated from what's happening around the quarterback. So where does that leave this year's class? If there's one quarterback I'd bet on to make a Year 2 leap, it's Dart. What surprised me most was how consistent the results were. Whether I looked at historical comparisons or projections, they kept pointing back to the Giants quarterback. The Giants didn't spend Dart's rookie season trying to hide him. Once he became the starter, Brian Daboll asked him to run the offense, push the ball downfield and consistently make big-boy NFL throws. As the season progressed, Dart looked increasingly comfortable doing exactly that. And while it didn't always work, the results were encouraging. Dart's rookie numbers were modest: 2,272 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and a 91.7 passer rating across 12 starts. The more encouraging story lived beneath those numbers. Dart consistently challenged defenses downfield while protecting the football -- just five interceptions on 339 attempts -- even after Malik Nabers was lost for the season in Dart's first NFL start. By November, Daboll wasn't calling games like he was trying to protect a rookie. He was calling them like he expected Dart to make NFL throws. (And, yes, also like he was trying to save his job. Both things can be true.) Dart rewarded that trust. The game never felt too big, and that's a common thread fo
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While the Raiders haven't won a division title since 2002, they managed to avoid the basement of the AFC West for five straight years starting in 2019, even making the playoffs once during that stretch. Then the bottom came, with four wins in 2024 and then three last year, earning the No. 1 pick in the draft. That has allowed the franchise to reboot once again, this time with quarterback Fernando Mendoza who is fresh off a national championship with Indiana, and new head coach Klint Kubiak who is fresh off a Super Bowl title with the Seahawks . However, rebuilds usually take time and the Raiders are once again projected to finish last in the division and well outside of the playoff picture. We're taking a look at everything you need to know before making Las Vegas Raiders futures bets below, including odds, trends, 2026 schedule, offseason changes and more before sharing our preseason betting strategy for the team. Odds are via DraftKings. Fans interested in betting on NFL and Super Bowl futures should check out the latest DraftKings promo code . Kubiak, Mendoza and key offseason additions have the market bullish on the Raiders, flipping the win total from a heavily juiced Under in February to a heavily juiced Over by the summer. We'll see if the market experiences some resistance if the main win total line jumps to 6.5 at some point. If the Raiders do go off with a 5.5 win total, it'll be their lowest preseason mark since 2015 when the team was coming off a 3-13 finish in Derek Carr 's rookie season. They're set to have a different lead passer for the fifth time in five seasons since the team's last year with double digit wins in 2021. If you want to wager on NFL futures, you have to check out the latest FanDuel promo code . The Raiders drafted running back Ashton Jeanty sixth overall then proceeded to be the worst offense in yards per rush, pairing the lack of a run game with the 29th-ranked passing attack in yards per play. The offense had the worst sack rate and third-worst interception rate in the league as well. The defense actually did well by ranking fourth in yards allowed per rush while staying in the middle of the league against the pass. The quality of the defense earned defensive line coach Rob Leonard a promotion to defensive coordinator on Kubiak's staff, and he'll have a new pair of linebackers in the middle of the defense after the Raiders signed Nakobe Dean from Philadelphia and Quay Walker from Green Bay. Kwity Paye comes from Indianapolis to give the pass rush a boost, but it's anyone's guess if Maxx Crosby will be healthy to begin the season or even be a part of the team come Week 1 after the Raiders tried to deal him this offseason to the Ravens before a failed physical got in the way. Mendoza and Kirk Cousins, the expected Week 1 starter, give the Raiders a potentially massive upgrade at quarterback and while questions still surround the receiving corps, the offensive line got a major boost with the signing of Tyler Linderbaum to man the pivot. Before you wager on NFL or Super Bowl futures, head over to our BetMGM promo code to see a great offer. Seventeen Sundays are on the docket for the Raiders, who will face the Titans , Browns and Saints as part of their last place schedule. They'll be in a rare situation in Week 1 as favorites when they host the Dolphins , and they could potentially dodge Patrick Mahomes twice if the quarterback isn't ready by Week 4 and if the Chiefs are resting players in Week 18. If Mahomes is back for Week 4, the eight-week stretch that starts with that game is brutal on paper, with only the Jets providing relief in a slate of potential playoff contenders. If you want to tail R.J. White and other SportsLine and CBS experts, check out the latest Caesars Sportsbook promo code . There are plenty of winnable matchups on the schedule for the Raiders, especially if Kubiak can rework the Sam Darnold magic with Cousins and Mendoza. I want to believe, especially with Kolton M
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CBS Sports' With the First Pick podcast has been going through its summer scouting exercise in an effort to provide fans with prospects to monitor for the upcoming college football season. Former Titans general manager Ran Carthon and analyst Ryan Wilson pooled their individual rankings, position by position, to compile a composite list. There were 19 offensive prospects selected in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft . Having surveyed the talent eligible for next year's event, the first round may continue to skew towards the offense. Everyone wants to talk about the quarterbacks, but the wide receiver class has a chance to be loaded as well. Who are the prospects to know as the college football season commences in August? The 2027 NFL Draft takes place from April 29-May 1 at the National Mall in Washington D.C. Oregon quarterback Dante Moore and Texas quarterback Arch Manning were the consensus top-two quarterbacks. Texas Tech's Brendan Sorsby was excluded from the composite quarterback rankings because he will not play college football this fall, but was on the top-five list for both individuals. Ohio State's Julian Sayin was the only other quarterback among the top five on both lists. LSU's Sam Leavitt and USC's Jayden Maiva each received a vote at No. 5 on their respective lists. Moore's path is particularly noteworthy. After winning two state championships in high school, he was a top-5 overall recruit and signed with UCLA after being committed to Oregon. His freshman season with the Bruins was so volatile that he transferred to Eugene and sat behind Dillon Gabriel for a year. The Michigan native could have entered the 2026 NFL Draft and likely been a top-10 overall pick, but elected to return for another season. Miami's Darian Mensah, Notre Dame's CJ Carr, Ole Miss' Trinidad Chambliss, Oklahoma State's Drew Mestemaker and UCLA's Nico Iamaleava were honorable mentions. It did come as a surprise that South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers was not among the top 10 on either list. Sellers is unrefined as a passer, but has an excellent frame and athletic profile. Minnesota's Drake Lindsey is another to watch as he operates like a professional in the pocket. With the exception of the 2022 NFL Draft, at least two quarterbacks have been taken in the first round every year dating back to the 2014 NFL Draft. Missouri's Ahmad Hardy is Wilson's top running back whereas Florida's Jadan Baugh is in the pole position for ex-Gator Carthon. Those two players, as well as Ole Miss' Kewan Lacy, were unanimous inclusions in the top-five lists. Louisville's Isaac Brown and Georgia's Nate Frazier were the other two running backs among Wilson's top five. Miami's Mark Fletcher and BYU's LJ Martin made Carthon's list. Texas' Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown, Georgia Tech's Justice Haynes, also received votes among the top 10 at the position. There were two running backs taken in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft and just three in the top-100 overall. Over the past five years, there have been 26 running backs taken in the top-100 overall. Only three have been listed sub-200 pounds: Tyjae Spears (195), De'Von Achane (191) and James Cook III (190). Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith was the undisputed No. 1 wide receiver as part of this class. Texas' Cam Coleman, Alabama's Ryan Coleman-Williams and Indiana's Charlie Becker also made the top five for both Wilson and Carthon. Rutgers' KJ Duff was as high as No. 2, whereas Carthon graded Texas' Ryan Wingo all the way up at No. 4 overall. #OhioState WR Jeremiah Smith (6-foot-3, 223) is WR1 through summer scouting. His play speed is just DIFFERENT. + No. 1 overall recruit out of HS + Cousin of Jets QB Geno Smith + Brother, Angelo, is committed to the Buckeyes + Also ran hurdles and sprints in HS track + 2025… pic.twitter.com/3F5Gzis9qG Indiana, Texas A&M and Texas were the only three schools with more than one representative among the top-10. Nick Marsh (Indiana), Mario Craver (Texas A&M) and [... truncated ...]
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