Oakland Raiders select Connor Cook: Twitter reacts

The Oakland Raiders already have Derek Carr, so why did the Raiders select Michigan State’s Connor Cook at No. 100? Twitter has really on idea on the pick.

The Oakland Raiders are one of the teams in the NFL that are clearly on the rise in 2016. They may have their issues with their stadium, but Oakland has several great players on head coach Jack Del Rio’s roster. Three obvious standouts on their young corps are wide receiver Amari Cooper, linebacker Khalil Mack, and quarterback Derek Carr.

Mack is one of the best pass rushers in the league. Cooper was arguably the best rookie wide receiver in the 2015 NFL Draft class. Carr earned a trip to the Pro Bowl in only his second year out of Fresno State in 2015. So why did the Oakland Raiders draft Michigan State Spartans quarterback Connor Cook at No. 100 in the top of the fourth round in the 2016 NFL Draft?

It seems that Twitter is split on Oakland’s selection of the Spartans’ quarterback. Cook was widely considered the fourth best quarterback prospect in the 2016 NFL Draft after California Golden Bears’ Jared Goff, North Dakota State Bison’s Carson Wentz, and Memphis Tigers’ Paxton Lynch.

Twitter seems to like Cook’s talent, but either don’t fully understand why he went to the Raiders at the top of the fourth round, while there is another group that is simply embracing the newest member of the Silver and Black.

Overall, the instantaneous reaction to the Raiders taking Cook at No. 100 even though they already have Carr had a lot of the Twitter-verse second guessing the selection. However, Oakland does satisfy the need for a strong backup quarterback to Carr in Cook.

Conceivably, Cook could come in and start should Carr succumb to injury in 2016. With the NFL’s current collective bargaining agreement in place that doesn’t allow 16 weeks of contact between players and coaches, offensive line play is as bad as it has ever been.

Though Oakland had a strong offensive line in 2015, the notion behind the Raiders getting Cook at No. 100 gives them a solid backup and a potential trade piece in a few years should Cook be ready to start for an NFL team. It feels like Matt Schaub’s selection out of Virginia by the Atlanta Falcons in 2004 even though they already had Michael Vick. Schaub would go on to lead the Houston Texans after leaving Atlanta.

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