Oakland Raiders Roundtable: 5 Questions About The 2014 Season

4. Who ends the season as Oakland’s better rookie, Derek Carr or Khalil Mack?

Aug 8, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Oakland Raiders linebacker Khalil Mack (52) against the Minnesota Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium. The Vikings defeated the Raiders 10-6. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Erik Lambert: Khalil Mack.  Carr has a lot more on his plate to sort through.  Mack has more experience around him to help like Justin Tuck and LaMarr Woodley.  His talent will do the rest.

Cody Pasby: Mack, due in large part to just having a better situation on defense. With so many players on the Raiders D with playoff and Super Bowl experience, Mack will have a lot of teammates he can go to for advice and mentoring, while Carr will constantly be under the microscope with few solid offensive weapons surrounding him.

Ben Greenberg: Tough to compare, given their different roles.  Should Carr retain his starting spot throughout the season, as I expect he will, he will unquestionably have a bigger impact at the league’s premier position. But Mack will be no slouch himself, and I expect excellent all-around numbers from him, perhaps following a slight adjustment period over the first few weeks.

Nick Hjeltness: I’ll take Mack.  While I expect Carr to play well, he’ll experience more growing pains because of the difficulty of the quarterback position.  Mack, who drew comparisons to Von Miller during the draft process, might be the best player on the defense by season’s end.

Aaron Candelaria: Has to be Khalil Mack. He’s being inserted into a pretty solid defense while Carr is being given the keys to an offense with tons of potential but also plenty of questions and inconsistency. There’s a reason Mack was taken so high in the draft; talent. We’ll see plenty of it here in Oakland.