After trading their fourth-round (No. 114 overall) and fifth-round (No. 154 overall) picks to the Cleveland Browns, the Oakland Raiders selected Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook with the No. 100 overall pick.
Learn more about the newest member of the Silver and Black.
1. He has the hardware
Cook was a three-year starter at Michigan State, boasting a 34-5 (.872) winning record.
During his four seasons as a Spartan, he was the 2015 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Winner, the 2015 Big Ten Quarterback of the Year, earned 2015 First-Team All-Big Ten honors and finished as Michigan State's all-time winningest quarterback.
2. He's ready to learn
The Raiders obviously have their starting quarterback of the future with Derek Carr, but Cook is looking forward to getting to the Bay Area and learning from him as well as the Raiders' coaching staff.
"Derek Carr is obviously a great quarterback, go in there and learn from him, try and compete obviously, and then you have great guys on offense," Cook said. "You have Amari Cooper, you have some other guys, playmakers at running back and tight end and all that other stuff."
3. Cook is motivated by slide to Day Three
Drafted in the fourth round, Cook was the seventh quarterback taken, and for the former-Rose Bowl MVP, being available on the third day will provide fodder as he begins his professional career.
"A lot of motivation, I'd say more motivation than anything," Cook said. "You see other quarterbacks go and when you think you're a pretty quarterback, it just motivates you. I'm just going to go into this league with a chip on my shoulder and try to earn everything that I achieve."
4. Go Green!
There are set to be a lot of Raiders fans in East Lansing this season, as the Silver and Black have not only selected Cook, but also picked up his Michigan State teammate defensive end Shilique Calhoun in the third round (No. 75 overall) as well.
"I called him [Calhoun] right away and we talked a little bit, congratulated each other, just told him, 'hey man, looks like we can't stay away from each other for too long,' and he was laughing about it," Cook explained. "It's cool being close to a guy like that, who was in my class, came in with me at Michigan State. Getting an opportunity to still be with him, it's a blessing."
5. No leadership concerns, here
"I don't think you can win that many games and be that successful at a program without being a leader. I think all that stuff was just so far from the truth and everything will work itself out. People want to talk and say all that stuff and they've never even sat down and talked to me or gotten to know me as a person. We were successful for a reason and that's pretty all I have to say."
