Mel Kiper on Connor Cook to Raiders: 'Be a sponge' to QB Derek Carr

The Connor Cook saga now pivots to what's next.

The former Michigan State quarterback fell further in the NFL draft than anyone anticipated, waiting until the third day and the fourth round when Oakland grabbed him.

It didn't seem ideal for Cook, landing on a team with a notable, successful young quarterback. But the ESPN draft analysts see that as a potential positive for Cook, who was dogged by leadership questions.

"Learn from how Derek Carr leads a football team and how he goes about his business," ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said on a conference call today. "He's a professional, he's been in the league, he's well liked by his teammates. Look at Derek Carr and what he's doing, follow him around, be a sponge. For whatever reason, you're not team captain, not voted by your teammates team captain, weren't MVP, Aaron Burbridge was, something wasn't right there."

• ESPN analysts like Raiders' pick of MSU's Cook

• Cook could not satisfy NFL teams' questions about leadership

• Couch: New Raiders QB Cook will have his NFL chance

• WR Burbridge to 49ers; OL Donavon Clark to Chargers

There is some hope despite having an incumbent in front of him.

There are always injuries in the NFL and players who struggle for whatever reason so Cook is likely to get a shot in a game at some point, if not more than one. That's when he'll have to prove he can play, just as former Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron did with the Cincinnati Bengals.

McCarron, reported to be too cocky in pre-draft interviews, was a three-year starter like Cook and won national titles his first two years and reached a BCS bowl his third. Cook won the Rose Bowl, the Cotton Bowl and led MSU to the College Football Playoff.

McCarron was drafted in the fifth round. Last year, his second season in the NFL, he started the Bengals' final five games, including one in the playoffs, after starter Andy Dalton's season-ending injury in mid-December.

"AJ McCarron was kind of a similar situation," ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay said. "A guy that won a ton of games, consistently made plays, did what they were supposed to do, played in a pro-style system coming out, with both of them there were just some concerned about whatever it is. How they carried themselves. The other thing with AJ McCarron and Connor Cook, there's not one special elite trait. I look at Connor Cook and he's got accuracy that's solid but he's inconsistent at times. He has an average arm, average mobility. So there's nothing special except the fact that his play on the field is good and his teams win.

"I'd look at AJ McCarron as the example. I'm going to go and sit behind the starter, show up every day with a chip on my shoulder, I'm going to be the best I can be and I'm going to learn from this guy in terms of leadership and the way to carry myself. And when I get my shot, I'm going to show them."

Contact Mark Snyder: msnyder@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@mark__snyder.

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