Insider Says the Raiders Were One of Four Teams Targeting Aidan O’Connell in the Middle Rounds of Last Year’s Draft

Aidan O’Connell might not go into next season as the Raiders’ presumed starting quarterback, but he did enough in his first NFL season to at least have the opportunity to compete for the job.

O’Connell ended his rookie year with 12 touchdowns and 7 interceptions, but it was the final four games of the season that he made a strong impression on the coaching staff. In that four-game stretch, O’Connell led the Raiders to three wins over division rivals (the Chargers, Chiefs, and Broncos), and threw 8 touchdowns without throwing an interception.

O’Connell was somewhat of a surprise pick for the Raiders in last year’s draft, but according to Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter, the Raiders were one of at least four teams that were targeting O’Connell in the fourth round prior to the Raiders trading up to get him.

“I know this and I know this for a fact. The reason the Raiders moved up in the draft to take Aidan O’Connell was because they knew that the Denver Broncos and two other teams were targeting him,” Carpenter said the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast. “They knew they had to get him where they got him. He was a guy that if he had come out the year before would have been a first-round draft pick.”

Some wondered what O’Connell’s future with the Raiders would look like when the coach that drafted him was fired, but by all accounts, the new coaching staff is very happy with O’Connell’s progress. Ironically, interim head coach Antonio Pierce seemed to show a lot more enthusiasm for O’Connell than McDaniels ever did.

Going forward it will be interesting to see the coaching staff the Raiders put around O’Connell (and whoever else the team brings in to compete with him). One name that popped up on Monday morning was former Cardinals’ head coach Kliff Kingsbury…

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