Raiders’ Derek Carr eager to lead way forward

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Derek Carr was the Raiders’ quarterback of the future at this time last year, and the future came in the blink of an eye. He beat out veteran Matt Schaub for the top spot on the depth chart in the preseason and wound up starting all 16 games. Now, a couple of days into his second training camp, Carr is feeling the eyes on him as the Raiders try to turn things around.

“It’s just a totally different situation,” Carr said. “It’s, ‘You’re the guy now.’”

And he is digging it.

“It’s kind of nice knowing that, because now I can really be myself, whereas when it was Schaub’s team, there are certain things,” Carr said. “You can’t step on his toes. You don’t want to get in the way. You want to let him do his thing.”

That didn’t work out so well for the Raiders, due to Schaub’s loss of confidence and arm strength, and he quickly took a back seat to the strong-armed Carr, the team’s second-round draft pick. Carr lost his first 10 starts but finished strong, totaling the second-most completions (348) and fifth-most passing touchdowns (21) for a rookie in NFL history.

By throwing just 12 interceptions he made history, posting the lowest total among the 12 quarterbacks all-time who attempted at least 450 passes in their rookie year.

Carr is ready to take the next step, and his teammates are ready to follow.

Derek Carr threw only 12 interceptions last year, an all-time NFL best for rookie QBs with at least 450 pass attempts. Derek Carr threw only 12 interceptions last year, an all-time NFL best for rookie QBs with at least 450 pass attempts. Photo: Eric Risberg, Associated Press Photo: Eric Risberg, Associated Press Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Raiders’ Derek Carr eager to lead way forward 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

“You’ve done it before, you’ve seen it and you can hit the ground running a lot faster,” he said. “It’s not seeing new coverage for the first time or seeing a new blitz for the first time. You go out and just play.”

Carr says this despite having had to learn a new offense since head coach Jack Del Rio and offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave were hired.

“He’s a super bright guy,” Del Rio said. “To have the grasp of the offense the way he does, early, it’s huge. And you can only do that through him spending extra time on his own.”

Musgrave, Minnesota’s offensive coordinator in 2011-13, will mix his run-heavy philosophy from his Vikings days with some up-tempo stuff he picked up in Philadelphia, where he was the quarterbacks coach last year. He’ll also try to spread the field for some quick-hitting plays that Carr succeeded with at Fresno State.

“We really do everything,” Carr said. “There are so many things and coach Musgrave is so smart and he’s done such a good job of I guess sitting in his little lab and just creating ways to get our guys the football. It’s my job not to screw it up. We’re going to be able to do a lot of things, that way hopefully teams can’t really get a bead on us.”

Carr worked hard in the offseason and has better targets in new receivers Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree. And Carr exudes confidence, teammates say.

“He’s got a different swagger about him this year,” left tackle Donald Penn said. “He led us very well last year, and he keeps everybody loose, and that will only get better. He has a very good grasp of the new offense, and for it to be new and everybody else still learning it, that’s very impressive.

“He’s grown, that’s obvious, and I think the other players are very excited to see that growth once we play games for real again.”

Briefly: Outside linebacker Sio Moore, who had offseason hip surgery, practiced after missing the first day of camp. He moved around well and is ready to compete with newcomer Malcolm Smith and Ray-Ray Armstrong for a starting job. “There’s no excuse to be behind,” he said. “You don’t put yourself behind. You put yourself ahead.” … Del Rio said the other five players who have been out — running back Trent Richardson, receiver Rod Streater, rookie tight end Clive Walford, kick returner Trindon Holliday and defensive tackle Stacy McGee — are all day to day.

Vic Tafur is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: vtafur@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @VicTafur