The thinking when the Raiders traded for Matt Schaub in March was that the veteran quarterback would start this season. That’s still the plan, but as coach Dennis Allen said, “everything is written in pencil.”

Oakland just finished up its third week of offseason practice on Thursday, and rookie Derek Carr has been very impressive. Good enough that he may just push Schaub for the starting job in training camp and cause the Raiders coaching staff to reach for the eraser.

Allen and offensive coordinator Greg Olson were excited about their second-round pick when they drafted him last month, and Olson said Carr has been “better than we thought he would be.”



The Fresno State product came in behind Schaub and second-year player Matt McGloin, but has already started taking away second-team snaps from McGloin.“I really, really like him,” Olson said of Carr. “Everybody knew he was accurate, but he is more accurate than we thought. … We’ll have to wait and see how he does against a live rush, but so far his intelligence, accuracy and quickness in getting the ball out has been excellent.”After a 2013 season in which Matt Flynn, Terrelle Pryor and McGloin all struggled at times, the Raiders pounced when the Houston Texans made Schaub available.“When we got Matt Schaub, we needed to do that,” Olson said. “We didn’t know who would fall to us in the draft. It was a good decision, a decision we had to make.”Carr, who played in a spread offense the last two years at Fresno State, was supposed to sit and learn behind Schaub and maybe even McGloin, who started six games last season.But the plan has been accelerating the last three weeks.“We drafted a pretty good player,” Olson said. “He is very intelligent, and he may not need to redshirt. We like his comfort level. Right away, you can see that this is not too big for him.”The coaches have been impressed with Carr’s work under center, and Allen said “he’s had significant improvement” since he showed up last month. Carr did play in a pro-style offense his first two years at Fresno State, and worked with his brother, former Texans quarterback David Carr, and ex-Giants quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan on his footwork before the draft.“He has looked very comfortable in his drops,” Olson said. “That is not a concern.”Allen and Olson are very comfortable with all of their quarterbacks — even fourth-stringer Trent Edwards has been throwing the ball well.No. 1 right now is Schaub, who is loving his fresh start after fans in Houston forgot about six pretty good seasons when he threw 14 interceptions in 10 games last year. He said he is enjoying the added responsibility in line-of-scrimmage adjustments and is planning on a big bounce-back season in Oakland at the age of 33.Allen feels Schaub is still one of the Top 10 quarterbacks in the NFL, and Olson said he will take advantage of the veteran’s intelligence.“They didn’t allow him to do much in Houston,” Olson said. “I don’t know why. A guy with his experience ought to understand the protections and what a good run is, and what a bad run is. So, give him more rein and let him use what he sees.”McGloin, meanwhile, spent the offseason working with former 49ers quarterback Jeff Garcia on his footwork and decision-making. He has a tough battle on his hands.“We are accelerating the learning curve of Derek Carr, so McGloin’s reps may suffer,” Olson said. “But anyone that knows Matt knows he is going to work his way through it, he’s always motivated and always fighting and working to get better.”Allen doesn’t like depth-chart talk in June, and said Carr’s only job right now is to get better.“He’s a competitor,” Allen said last week. “He is going to continue to compete. That’s really what we want him to do. I am not setting any barriers. … I want him to come in here and try to get better every day. If he does that, everything else takes care of itself.”