Khalil Mack discusses his role with Raiders, his irrational fear of house cats

Raiders rookie linebacker, Khalil Mack, struck fear into opposing quarterbacks for four years at Buffalo. But when it comes to scaring Mack, you would need something much smaller and fluffier -- Mack is scared of house cats. Like, really scared.

"I really don't like cats," Mack said in an interview with SB Nation. "House cats, I hate them. I HATE them. Super umpredictable 'REAR!' I hate cats. I really don't like them."

So, there you go, Peyton Manning, just bring little Purrton Meowning to the game and Khalil Mack will keep his distance. We have the secret. Luckily for the Raiders, the only team they play with a cat mascot is the Lions and that is a preseason game.

As for what role Mack would be playing for the Raiders, he says they will be utilizing his versatility in pass rushing and coverage this season.

"My role is very, very versatile," said Mack. "I'm a versatile style player. I'm very aggressive wherever I'm at on the field. There's a lot of different things they want to put me in. I'm pretty much playing a linebacker role but even then, there's just so many things."

This is what was expected of Mack regardless of which team drafted him. He was widely considered the most versatile pass rusher in this draft. While Jadeveon Clowney is seen as the best pure pass rusher, he is a down defensive end who is stiff in coverage.

Thus far in Raiders OTA's Mack has been lining up at strong side linebacker and the Raiders hope to deploy him in much the same way they did with Sio Moore last season -- a 4-3 linebacker with the ability to put pressure on the quarterback on any given play.

Follow @LeviDamien