The first time Chris Kluwe gave Marquette King some advice, long snapper Jon Condo looked at the two punters incredulously.

"This is kind of weird," Condo said. "Is he supposed to be doing this?"

You see, Kluwe and King are competing for a job at Raiders training camp, with Kluwe the savvy veteran and King the young thumper.

"He's got a cannon for a leg," Kluwe said. "I think I could have kept up with him when I was 22 or 23, but right now, power-wise, he's got it."

Kluwe came into camp with the slight edge because of his experience. But after a couple of weeks and a preseason game, it seems like the margin has gotten even smaller. Each had a punt Friday against the Cowboys: King's went 50 yards (and was muffed). Kluwe's went 36 yards.

"Marquette has worked extremely hard and gotten better," Raiders head coach Dennis Allen said. "The consistency with him as far as get-off times, the little details, that's what we're hoping to see."

King was stashed on injured reserve last year because Oakland knew it didn't want to pay big money to re-sign Shane Lechler. A powerfully built 6-foot, 192-pounder, King would drill some above the trees last year in camp, but would also mis-hit plenty as he learned how to drop the ball with one hand instead of two.

Kluwe, 31, was acquired for some competition after the Vikings waived him despite a career-best 39.7-yard net average.

Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle

After a few awkward moments when they met and later when Kluwe first offered King some pointers, the two now get along well.

"That was weird," King said. "I was thinking, 'He doesn't really want to help me, does he?' "

He did, and Kluwe said the reason is simple.

"When I came into the league, no one helped me out when I could have used some help," Kluwe said. "There are some things you learn as a veteran that as a rookie you just don't know."

Like when King's punts tailed to the left, he was apparently dropping the ball too far to the inside. Or when the youngster shanked one, Kluwe told him the nose of the ball was too far down.

"He also gives me tips about the weather or the wind, what I should do in certain situations," King said. "He's a great punter and a pretty cool dude."

King has worked hard to get better. Even on the days when his leg was tired in the offseason, King said he went to a soccer field and went through the motions.

His mechanics are better, though "the drop is still under construction just a tad," he said. King even bought one of since-fired special-teams coach Steve Hoffman's instructional videos so he won't forget any of his old coach's tips.

"I watch it every other night," he said.

And King has also learned to not let a bad punt linger in his mind anymore.

"I have faith in myself," King said. "I hang out with (Terrelle Pryor) and (Rod Streater) all the time, and they're so confident and I feed off of their confidence."

Kluwe, who specializes in the lost art of coffin-corner kicks, says he thinks the coaches are going to have a tough decision on their hands.

"We're both kicking the ball pretty well. ... I feel confident in my abilities. I think Marquette should be confident in his abilities," Kluwe said. "If both of us punt well, there will be room in the NFL for both of us."

King said, "I just pray that things work out for both of us. Both of us can be the man."

Hayden back: Rookie cornerback D.J. Hayden returned to practice from a hamstring injury Monday, and the first-round pick should be cleared for contact for the first time Friday, Allen said. That would be too late to play in Friday's preseason game in New Orleans, but Hayden would be set to play the following week.

Hayden hasn't faced any contact since he almost died in a collision at a University of Houston practice in November. He tore a vein to his heart, had emergency surgery and then had follow-up surgery in May to clean up scar tissue in his abdomen.

"Friday is when he should be cleared for contact," Allen said. "We'll reevaluate with the doctors after that, but the plan going forward, I would anticipate, is he would be up and going for the Chicago game" on Aug. 23.

Even though he has worn a red no-contact jersey at camp, Hayden has impressed Raiders defensive coordinator Jason Tarver.

"You can see the natural movements of a corner," Tarver said. "He's blessed with a lot of things and demonstrates the short memory that is necessary to play defensive back at a high level in the NFL."