A fourth round pick in the 2016 draft, Connor Cook will make history on Saturday by being the first ever quarterback to make his first career start in the NFL in the playoffs.
Thanks to a broken leg to Derek Carr and a shoulder injury to backup Matt McGloin, Cook is in line to start Wildcard Weekend against the Houston Texans.
Cook has big game experience in college, leading Michigan State to huge wins in his final season, including a win at Ohio State in front of 108,000 people. The NFL however, is another monster, and a heck of a starting stage for a rookie QB.
Cook will go up against a defense that ranked first overall in fewest yards allowed and was 7-1 at home.
Back in November, Oakland beat Houston in a thriller in Mexico City, however it was Carr leading that comeback while Cook watched from the sidelines.
The advantage for Cook is that he’s got a pair of 1,000 yard receivers in Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree, and a rushing attack that ranked 6th in the league in yards.
It will be an interesting storyline for Oakland and for Cook, who back in April/May, was considered by many to be as high as a 1st or 2nd round pick, yet because of concerns regarding his character (like not being named Team Capitan his senior year), Cook fell all the way to the 4th round. Yet here he stands, with a chance to give the Raiders their first playoff win since 2002.
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