Aidan O’Connell hears all the noise that the Raiders need to draft a franchise quarterback at number 13 in the NFL draft. Despite all of that noise, O’Connell is putting in a lot of work in the off season. Once the Raiders fired Josh McDaniels, interim coach at the time Antonio Pierce felt like changes needed to be made, that first change was giving the green light to O’Connell.
His rookie season was filled with adversity. O’Connell started 10 games as a rookie, throwing for 2,218 yards and 12 touchdowns with seven interceptions. The rookie started the final nine games as the Raiders went 5-4, including winning three of their final four games. Finding some success at the end of the season gave the Raiders some optimism in O’Connell’s potential.
O’Connell is definitely bigger and stronger from off season conditioning. During the team’s first day of voluntary workouts, O’Connell says he’s taken his offseason workout regimen to a new level. But after the Raiders signed reliable veteran Gardner Minshew, there will be a serious QB competition.
“It’s new at this level for me, but it’s nothing new in terms of the competition,” O’Connell said. “It’s been even since high school what I’ve been dealing with and working through. That’s just part of the game. It’s not unique to any one position, it’s how it is at every position.”
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