Aidan O'Connell Was the Best Rookie QB in Preseason Debut
Rookie fourth-round draft pick Aidan O'Connell out of Purdue had an overall phenomenal first preseason game for the Las Vegas Raiders.
O'Connell played three quarters and finished with 15 completed passes on 18 attempts, for 141 yards, including two big-time throws. He also threw a touchdown pass in the second quarter to wide receiver Keelan Cole Sr.
In a recent Pro Football Focus article, the website listed the best quarterback preseason debuts from the 2023 NFL Draft. Raiders Aiden O'Connell is listed as the No. 1 best rookie preseason quarterback from the 2023 NFL Draft in his debut.
O'Connell looked very comfortable playing in his first-ever NFL game. He finished with an elite PFF passing grade of 90.8, the highest of all rookie quarterbacks in their preseason debuts. The rookie quarterback gave flashbacks from his phenomenal junior season with the Boilermakers.
After the Raiders dominated 34-7 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, O'Connell had the opportunity to share with the media his first NFL game as a quarterback.
"It was good, it was good you know," O'Connell said. "I definitely need some things to work on still, but it was fun to be out there, live action and you know bullets are really flying. It's really different from when you play quarterback even when you practice against a team, that can't tackle you in practice, and they can now. So just the added level of the juice is a little more, so it was a lot of fun to be out there."
O'Connell should get more playing time for the Raiders this preseason. The Raiders still have two more preseason games against the Los Angeles Rams and Dallas Cowboys.
Here are the complete rankings of Pro Football Focus debuts of the top quarterbacks in the 2023 NFL Draft.
The Silver and Black return to preseason action when they play the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 19, at 9 p.m. EDT/6 p.m. PDT.
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