The Las Vegas Raiders made a major move at the quarterback position this offseason, opting to move on from Derek Carr. After nine seasons with the team, he was released and signed with the New Orleans Saints.
To take over as the starter in Sin City, the Raiders signed Jimmy Garoppolo. But, he wasn’t the only addition that the team made to their quarterback depth chart, as they also used a fourth-round pick on Aidan O’Connell out of Purdue.
O’Connell has been garnering some attention recently with his performance in the preseason. The Raiders are 2-0 in the exhibition games thus far and the former Boilermaker is a major reason why.
In the preseason opener against the San Francisco 49ers, O’Connell completed 15-of-18 passes for 141 yards and one touchdown. In this past weekend’s contest against the Los Angeles Rams, he completed 11-of-18 attempts for 163 yards and two more touchdowns.
Performances like that will certainly garner the attention of the Raiders’ coaching staff. While Brian Hoyer was signed as veteran insurance this offseason, O’Connell is certainly making a push to take over as the backup to Garoppolo.
The hype for O’Connell is garnering some attention around the football world, as people believe he has something to make a name for himself. While making an appearance on The Herd on FS1 and Fox Sports, NFL insider Tom Pelissero compared O’Connell to Tom Brady.
“Who does that sound like the profile on? Another guy who went later in the draft — Tom Brady,” Pelissero said when talking to Colin Cowherd about O’Connell.
There are certainly some similarities to the scouting reports for O’Connell and Brady when he came out of Michigan. O’Connell is a classic pocket passer with a good arm and accuracy with pocket awareness.
While he isn’t going to blow people away with his athleticism, O’Connell does have some escapability and footwork. He certainly fits the mold for the type of quarterbacks that Raiders’ head coach Josh McDaniels wants to work with.
While Pelissero isn’t saying O’Connell will turn into Brady, he was citing the strengths in his game that provide him a chance to succeed at the next level. There isn’t a quarterback competition for the Raiders in 2023, but O’Connell has the tools to develop into a useful player at the professional level.
