With an eye on the future, perhaps the Las Vegas Raiders have found themselves a quarterback to develop behind Jimmy Garoppolo. During Day 3 of the 2023 NFL Draft on Saturday, the Raiders traded up to take a quarterback after previously passing on the likes of Will Levis and Hendon Hooker.
Las Vegas traded up with the New England Patriots, parting with two draft picks — Nos. 144 and 214 — selected a quarterback they spent much time with during the pre-draft process. With the 135th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Raiders selected Purdue Boilermakers QB Aidan O’Connell.
Adding a QB in the desert 🫡 pic.twitter.com/4Twc5QtYpc
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) April 29, 2023
The 24-year-old O’Connell spent six years in West Lafayette, though he didn’t see action in his first two seasons at Purdue. O’Connell joined the Boilermakers as a walk-on but didn’t go on scholarship before the 2019 season. In 33 career games at Purdue, he led his team to a 17-11 record, completing 66.7% of his passes for 9,219 yards with 65 touchdowns and 30 interceptions. This past season, O’Connell completed 320-of-499 passes (64.1%) for 3,490 passing yards with 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
At the Shrine Bowl, O’Connell put himself squarely in the conversation of being one of the top quarterbacks selected on Day 3. The RO’Connelld head coach Josh McDaniels now has a quarterback to develop behind Garoppolo, who has had trouble consistently staying on the field but has previously played the role of a mentor in San Francisco.
