REPORT: What the 'Ceiling' is for Raiders QB Aidan O'Connell

It's way too early to tell what Las Vegas Raiders second-year quarterback Aidan O'Connell could become, but it's always fun to guess.

Dec 31, 2023; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O'Connell (4) passes the ball in the first half against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O'Connell is one of several second-year NFL quarterbacks who flourished in their rookie campaigns.

Inserted as the club's starting quarterback following Week 8, O'Connell embraced his opportunity as a rookie starter and led the Silver and Black to a 5-4 record down the stretch.

It isn't guaranteed that O'Connell retains that starting role in his second year, as a training camp battle with veteran quarterback Gardner Minshew II is fast approaching. This situation begs the question: Just what is O'Connell's potential as an NFL quarterback?

Pro Football Focus' Sam Monson took a stab at answering that in a recent article discussing the "ceilings" and "floors" for second-year quarterbacks.

"O’Connell was a fascinating prospect," Monson wrote. "He made 48 big-time throws over his final two seasons at Purdue, and his highlight reel matched any quarterback in the draft class.

"The problem was that his lowlight reel was almost equally as spectacular and undermined all of his positives. He has the tools to be a starting-caliber NFL quarterback, but he may be an inherently streaky player.

"Even last season, we saw a similar story with the Raiders. O’Connell earned an unremarkable 65.9 PFF overall grade, but within that season was an elite 85.5 PFF game grade (against the Super Bowl-winning Chiefs) and another two high-end games of 79.0 and 75.2. It also featured game grades of 39.8 and 51.7.

"O’Connell could potentially become the next Ryan Fitzpatrick — a quarterback on the borderline of being an NFL starter yet one capable of catching fire and going on a run of high-level play. When that player catches the low end of his variance, he gets relegated back to backup status and often bumped from the roster entirely, forced to move on to a new team to begin the cycle anew."

Ryan Fitzpatrick. It's not the most flattering comparison but far from the worst. What's kind of ironic is, based on Monson's explanation, you could call O'Connell the next Minshew.

O'Connell's "ceiling" will depend on what's in store for him this season. Monson said his "floor" is a "short-career backup."

I don't see that being the case at all. O'Connell is too determined and too hard of a worker to end up being merely that.

As far as his ceiling, I think O'Connell has the potential to be a longtime franchise quarterback. He's got a ways to go, but it's there for the taking in Las Vegas.

Ensure you follow on X (Twitter) @HondoCarpenter and IG @HondoSr and never miss another breaking news story again.

Please let us know your thoughts when you like our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.