CHICAGO — Connor Cook is the winningest quarterback in Michigan State history. Andrew Billings is coming off a dominant season on Baylor’s defensive line.

It didn’t mean very much in the NFL Draft.

Cook watched as six quarterbacks came off the board before he was selected by Oakland with the second pick of the fourth round Saturday, and Billings tumbled all the way to Cincinnati at No.?122 after it looked as if he could be a first-round pick.

‘‘Any time you see another quarterback get drafted in front of you, it hurts,’’ Cook said. ‘‘I’m a competitor. Obviously, I think I’m one of the best quarterbacks in this draft class, but nothing is ever easy and nothing is ever perfect.’’

Oakland already has Derek Carr, who threw for 32 touchdowns last season, but it traded up to take Cook in front of Dallas out of fear the Cowboys might be looking for a potential successor to Tony Romo.

The 6-foot-4-inch Cook set school records with 9,194 yards passing and 71 touchdown passes for the Spartans. But questions about his 57.5 completion percentage and leadership skills pushed him down the board.

Cowboys grab QB, Gathers

The Cowboys drafted a quarterback for the first time since 2009 and added a Baylor basketball star who last played football when he was in eighth grade.

The Cowboys took Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott with the 135th overall pick in the fourth round, adding to the group competing to be the backup to Tony Romo.

With the last of four picks in the sixth round, the Cowboys took Baylor’s Rico Gathers at No. 217 overall. The 6-8, 275-pound Gathers projects as a tight end after deciding against pursuing a career in the NBA.

Dallas made a similar move in 2008, taking Texas A&M’s Martellus Bennett in the second round. The difference was that Bennett played football and basketball for the Aggies.

Rico’s father is the cousin of the late Hank Gathers, an All-American and former Loyola Marymount basketball star.

Romo missed 12 games with a twice-broke left collarbone last season, and the Cowboys slid from first to worst in the NFC East at 4-12. They went 1-11 without Romo. Kellen Moore was Romo’s backup when the season ended, and Jameill Showers spent most of the season on the practice squad.

Prescott set 38 school records with the Bulldogs and is one of two Southeastern Conference quarterbacks to throw for at least 70 touchdowns and rush for at least 40 in a career. Florida’s Tim Tebow is the other.

German makes history

Minnesota grabbed one of the draft’s biggest wild cards when it took wide receiver Moritz Boehringer in the sixth round. Boehringer, who wowed teams with an impressive pro day, played in the German Football League last season.

According to the NFL, Boehringer is the first player from Europe drafted without playing in college.

The 6-4, 229-pound Boehringer put on a head-turning performance in March at Florida Atlantic’s pro workout day, running the 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds. Only three wide receivers at the league’s scouting combine in February ran faster than the native of Aalen, Germany.

The Vikings included Boehringer in their 30-prospect pre-draft visit and after grilling him about the nuances of the game were satisfied with his ability to pick up a complex playbook.

‘‘He was off-the-charts smart,’’ general manager Rick Spielman said.

Boehringer didn’t pick up the sport until about five years ago when he was inspired by YouTube videos he discovered of Adrian Peterson highlights with the Vikings.

The former soccer player joined a junior youth team, the Crailsheim Titans, for his first season of competitive football in 2013.

‘‘I just started learning the game by playing, so the first year was really difficult,’’ Boehringer said on a conference call with Minnesota reporters. ‘‘I really had no idea what I was doing.’’

He was a quick learner, though.

Boehringer debuted in the top-level German Football League in 2015 and totaled 16 touchdown receptions with an average of 20.9 yards per catch in 21 games for the Schwabisch Hall Unicorns, winning the rookie of the year award.

Boehringer spent time in Minnesota last September on vacation, taking in the TCU-Gophers game. This weekend, he'll be back in the state for rookie minicamp. Sometime in the coming months, he'll get to meet Peterson.

‘‘I heard he has a very strong handshake,’’ Boehringer said. ‘‘I will be prepared for that.’’

He’s the second player who did not play American college football to be selected in the NFL draft. Eric Swann was the first in 1991, taken by the Cardinals in 1991 with the sixth overall pick. Swann couldn’t qualify academically at North Carolina State, refused to attend a junior college and instead played for a semi-pro team in Massachusetts.

Ravens land Navy star

Baltimore drafted Navy star Keenan Reynolds in the sixth round (No.?182), but he is expected to transition to wide receiver after rushing for a Division 1-record 88 touchdowns with the Midshipmen. The 5-10, 190-pound Reynolds ran the triple option with the Midshipmen . . . Among the other noteworthy picks were a number of players with family ties to the NFL. Wisconsin fullback Derek Watt, the brother of Texans star defensive end J.J. Watt, was drafted by San Diego at No. 198, and Florida running back Kelvin Taylor, the son of former Jacksonville standout Fred Taylor, was selected by San Francisco in the sixth round. After the draft, Glenn Gronkowski, a fullback out of Kansas State and brother of Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, signed a deal with his hometown team, the Bills . . . The Bears agreed to a one-year contract with former Patriots and Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer, giving them a veteran backup to Jay Cutler. NFL.com reported the deal is worth $2 million.