Oakland Raiders coach Dennis Allen has praised the improvement that quarterback Terrelle Pryor has made.

Allen has already confirmed that Pryor will start his first match of the pre-season campaign against the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday as he looks to challenge Matt Flynn for the number one quarterback role.

While Allen offered no hints that Pryor is set to overhaul Flynn in that race, he did praise the 24-year-old's work ethic and revealed that he is looking forward to seeing how he copes against a strong defence.

"When you have guys who have athletic talent like he does and they work as hard as he has, guys are going to get better, and he's improved," Allen told The Associated Press.

"It'll be a good thing to see him in another game situation against a really good defence on the road in that environment and see how he responds."

The Raiders will begin their regular season at the Indianapolis Colts on September 8.