Improbable Raiders draft pick Connor Cook glad he found a home in Oakland

2:06 AM ET

ALAMEDA, Calif. — In one corner of the conspiracy universe, the Oakland Raiders traded up to draft Connor Cook to block the Dallas Cowboys, who were more than interested in selecting the Michigan State quarterback.

Payback, you see, for Cowboys owner Jerry Jones playing such an instrumental role in thwarting the Raiders’ move to Los Angeles with his turning the majority of owners from the recommended plan of the Raiders and San Diego Chargers playing in Carson to Stan Kroenke’s proposal for his Rams in Inglewood.

The official story, though? The Raiders simply saw something shiny they liked in Cook at the top of the fourth round on Saturday and struck, moving up 14 spots to No. 100. Yes, even if they already have a franchise quarterback in Derek Carr and a more-than-serviceable backup in Matt McGloin.

While quarterback wasn’t a pressing need, the Raiders felt Connor Cook was too good to not go after. Jeff Gross/Getty Images

Because remember, a popular line of thinking says a team should draft a quarterback every three years or so anyway, just to keep things from getting stale. The Raiders, then, just so happened to draft a top four-ranked QB … two years after drafting Carr in the second round.

What does it all mean?

“He’s a good player,” Raiders general manager Reggie …

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