Receiver James Jones said he was one of the few people in the Raiders locker room that was not surprised the coaching staff went with rookie quarterback Derek Carr over veteran Matt Schaub on Monday.

Jones spent the past six seasons catching passes from Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, and has been excited about Carr’s similar development.

“He’s really calm, really cool in the pocket,” Jones said. “He acts like he’s been there before. I’ve been calling him mini A-Rod since he got here.”

But Rodgers sat for a couple of years behind Brett Favre in Green Bay. Carr is the first rookie quarterback to ever start the opener for the Raiders.

Carr joins his older brother, David, as rookies to start in the season opener. They are the only brothers to do that since at least 1950, according to STATS. David was the first overall pick in the 2002 NFL draft and won his debut for the expansion Houston Texans against Dallas in 2002. But he either held on to the ball to long or was the victim of a bad offensive line, depending on who you ask, and was considered a bust.

Derek Carr idolizes his brother and credits him, and watching NFL game film at the age of 11, with his development.

“I learned everything that he did right and everything that he did wrong,” Derek Carr said. “He told me that if he could do anything, he hopes he made the path smoother for me as I transition into the NFL.”

Raiders center Stefen Wisniewski said that on the first day of training camp in July, Carr surprised him by knowing every offensive call in the playbook.

“He’s not your typical rookie,” Wisniewski said. “He’s got an NFL quarterback older brother that’s been teaching him for years. He understands defenses at a very advanced level more than most rookies would. I think Derek gets way more prepared than most rookies would be.”