Derek Carr, QB, Oakland Raiders (0-7)
Stats: 118/195, 1,189 yards, 8 TD
Review: Carr earned All-America honors and Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year awards during his junior and senior seasons with the Bulldogs. Selected with the 36th overall pick, he earned the starting job in Oakland by beating out veteran Matt Schaub in the preseason. Since then, he has started all seven games for the Raiders. The former Fresno State signal caller is being asked to do more as a rookie and so far has stepped up to the challenge. Despite going through a head-coaching change and lacking weapons in the passing game, Carr continues to be a productive force for the Raiders and a guy that they can lead on moving forward.
Davante Adams, WR, Green Bay Packers (4-3)
Stats: 17 receptions, 188 yards, 2 TD
Review: The former Bulldog was selected in second round of this year’s draft with the 53rd overall pick. Like Carr, Adams was also a two-time All-America selection and twice named to the All-Mountain West first team. Adams has played in all seven games for Green Bay. The Fresno State record-setter is serving as another weapon for Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. He scored his first NFL touchdown in Week 5 against the Minnesota Vikings on an 11-yard catch. Last week, against the Carolina Panthers, he scored again on a 21-yard play.
Adams along with Bear Pascoe and Stephone Paige will return to Fresno State Saturday as an honorary captain, when his former team takes on conference opponent Wyoming.
Isaiah Burse, WR/PR, Denver Broncos (6-1)
Stats: 16 attempts, 97 yards, 0 TD
Review: The dual-threat receiver earned second-team All-Mountain West honors as a punt return specialist last year and was named to the All-Mountain West honorable mention team as a wide receiver. Burse went undrafted in this year’s draft, but was picked up as an undrafted free agent by the Denver Broncos. He has played in all seven games as the starting punt returner. So far, Burse has not had many opportunities to return, but when he has, he’s shown elusiveness and displayed quickness in the open field.
Marcel Jensen, TE, Jacksonville Jaguars (1-7)
Stats: 1 reception, 8 yards, 0 TD
Review: The big target garnered a second-team All-Mountain West selection as a senior in 2013 at Fresno State. He went undrafted in the 2014 NFL Draft but shortly after was picked up by Jacksonville. The 6-foot-6, 270-pound Jensen has played in one game for the Jaguars. However, he was placed on the Jaguars’ practice squad injured list on Oct. 14 with a knee injury.
Austin Wentworth, OL, Minnesota Vikings (3-5)
Review: Wentworth served as Derek Carr’s blindside tackle at Fresno State, where he was a two-time 1st-Team All Mountain West selection. About a month ago, Wentworth was promoted to the Vikings’ 53-man active roster from the practice squad. He saw action in the pre-season at both tackle and guard but so far hasn’t seen any action in the regular season.
