Aidan O'Connell

O'Connell lost a summer job battle with Gardner Minshew for the Week 1 starting job. A 2023 fourth-round pick, O'Connell began last season as the No. 3 QB only to be named starter Week 9 over both Jimmy Garoppolo and backup Brian Hoyer (after coach Josh McDaniels was fired). O'Connell's arm is merely average, and while he had his moments he was by no means prolific. He ranked 28th in on-target percentage (68.5) and 27th in completion percentage (62.1) even though he didn't throw many deep passes. Seventy-one percent of his passes came within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage (4th most), while only 8.7 percent traveled 20-plus yards (22nd). His 6.5 YPA ranked 25th, and he threw just 12 TD passes in 11 games. O'Connell also is immobile -- zero scrambles last season, with his 17 rush attempts mostly being sneaks or kneel-downs. Minshew was a slightly more efficient passer in 13 starts for Indianapolis last year, and he's always been willing to scramble when plays break down. If O'Connell ends up playing this year, he'll throw to veteran WRs Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers as well as young TEs Brock Bowers (a rookie first-round pick) and Michael Mayer (a second-round pick last year). The offense will be directed by former Bears coordinator Luke Getsy, who fielded one of the league's worst passing offenses the last two years in Chicago.

O'Connell turned a preferred walk-on spot at Purdue into a pair of second-team All-Big Ten honors by the time he left, completing 635 of 939 pass attempts for 7,202 yards and 50 touchdowns versus 24 picks in 24 games over his final two seasons with the Boilermakers. The Raiders subsequently spent a fourth-round pick on O'Connell (who will be 25 years old by the time Week 1 arrives) in the 2023 NFL Draft, and coach Josh McDaniels likely views O'Connell as a developmental project behind starter Jimmy Garoppolo, with veteran Brian Hoyer's experience probably giving him the edge for primary backup duties.