Aidan O’Connell has been a pleasant surprise for the Las Vegas Raiders so far
The Las Vegas Raiders may have found a diamond in the rough with rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell here in preseason.
After signing free agent Jimmy Garoppolo, the Raiders took a chance on O’Connell by drafting him in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL draft. And so far, the former Purdue standout has been really good in the preseason.
Following Saturday’s win over the Los Angeles Rams, O’Connell drew some more praise.
Here is what CBS Sports’ Jordan Dajani wrote on O’Connell in his rookie quarterback review for preseason week 2:
O’Connell was arguably the best rookie quarterback from Week 1 of the preseason, and he was impressive yet again Saturday night vs. the Rams. After entering the game in the second half, O’Connell completed 11 of 18 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns. Through two weeks, he’s completed 26 of 36 passes for 304 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Now, O’Connell probably isn’t taking Garoppolo’s job barring any injury or wildy inconsistent play. But he does give the Raiders an option for the future.
If he can continue to get better and develop, the Raiders may have a diamond in the rough with O’Connell at quarterback. We also must keep in mind that while this is all positive news, it is still just two preseason games for the rookie and it’s hard to take too much stock into all of that.
Still, this is very good news early on in O’Connell’s career.
