NAPA – If Raiders wide receiver Rod Streater is still prone to the occasional rookie slip, and he'll be the first to acknowledge that's the case, it isn't for lack of preparation.

A week into his first NFL camp, Streater acknowledges that "everybody has talent at this level, so I've got to get better with the mental side of it."

So every night, he's opening his playbook and enlisting fellow rookie and roommate Juron Criner as a study buddy.

"We do like a script of all the plays," Streater said. "He'll say a play, I'll say what I have (to do), he'll say what he has. Then I'll say a play, he'll say what he has."

So far it's been high marks for the undrafted rookie out of Temple, who is in good position to earn a roster spot with strong performances in offseason and training camp workouts.

Despite fielding calls from "a lot of teams" leading up to the draft, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound receiver didn't hear his name announced during the NFL draft.

"But I didn't really expect to get drafted," he said. "Coming from Temple, I only had like 19 catches (for 401 yards and three touchdowns as a senior), and we ran the ball a lot. So I didn't have much film."

Streater played receiver and safety in community college, and also was a high jumper on the track and field team at Alfred State (New York), where he spent two years before transferring to Temple. In Philadelphia, he caught 30 passes for 481 yards in his first season with the Owls, but the program underwent a coaching change after that season and his receiving numbers dropped.

"I knew Temple threw a little bit, but I didn't know they'd run so much," Streater said. "I didn't do a lot of research. I had to make the best of it."

Though they passed on drafting him, the Raiders made Streater "one of the primary guys" they targeted once he hit free agency, said Raiders coach Dennis Allen.

Streater said general manager Reggie McKenzie was among several Raiders higher-ups who "called me and said they watched my tape and stuff, and they felt I could play here and contribute."

A new offense in Oakland meant a more level playing field in the battle for playing time. And what really made an impression on Streater were calls made to some of his former college coaches exploring his background.

"(The Raiders) did a lot of research, so I felt like it was legit," Streater said. "They really wanted me here."

When wide receiver Denarius Moore missed a few days of the team's June minicamp because of a hamstring injury, the Raiders had Streater work with their first-team offense. Allen said then that he saw some similarities between Streater and Moore, the fifth-round draft pick who had a breakout rookie season last year, particularly in route running.

"He's still making an impression," Allen said Wednesday. "He's a big, athletic wide receiver. He gets in and out of his cuts very well. As with all the rookies, you still look up and he's making silly mistakes. We're going to stay on him and keep working with him. If he'll just continue to work on getting better every day, he'll be fine."

The Raiders' trading Louis Murphy to the Carolina Panthers before training camp opened another spot on the receiving depth chart, where Streater and Criner have both made a push.

Just to have that chance, Streater said, is invaluable.

"After the draft was over, I just wanted a place to go, a place to play," Streater said. "This is an opportunity to make it this far, so I felt like if I could just get here, I could make an impact."

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