Aidan O’Connell’s 2024 Fantasy Outlook

Aidan O’Connell had a very interesting rookie season that saw the Raiders trade Derek Carr away, in favor of trying to make a splash with Josh McDaniels’ favorite, Jimmy Garoppolo, to reinstitute the Patriot Way in Vegas.

But, after a 3-5 start with an ineffective Jimmy G, McDaniels was mercifully fired in place of linebackers coach Antonio Pierce, to finish the year as interim head coach. Wiping the slate clean, Pierce decided to make Aidan O’Connell the starting quarterback for the remainder of the season.

Aidan O’Connell’s College Stats and Production

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Aidan O’Connell is entering his 2nd season with the Las Vegas Raiders after playing out his rookie season in 2023. He was a walk-on at Purdue after deciding not to stay at Wheaton College, where he had committed to play in 2017.

O’Connell’s college career was unremarkable until his junior year, when he replaced an injured Jack Plummer, to throw 28 touchdowns and just 11 interceptions. As the starter in 2022, he had another productive year with 22 TDs and 13 INTs before deciding to enter the 2023 NFL Draft. Aidan signed a rookie contract for 4 years for $4.34 million (Spotrac.com).

O’Connell’s 2023 Stats and Fantasy Production

Aidan O’Connell started 10 games in 2023, going 5-5, completing 62.1 % of his passes for 2,218 yards, with 12 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. Those are pretty respectable numbers for a 4th Round pick that was thrown in to run an offense under an interim coach.

He finished the season with 128.5 fantasy points, which ranked 28th at his position. On the bright side, O’Connell finished the season strong with 25.9, 20.3, and 17.9 fantasy points in 3 of the last 4 games.

Aidan O’Connell’s 2024 Fantasy Outlook

Aidan O’Connell will try to build off of his rookie season and try to prove that he deserves to be the starter for the Raiders. His fantasy outlook is completely dependent upon whether Gardner Minshew is benched as the designated starter. O’Connell, now the backup, is projected to have 74.87 fantasy points in 2024, far below what he had in 2023.

That number, however, would undoubtedly increase significantly if he is running the offense. It should be mentioned that O’Connell would have the luxury of throwing to Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers, Tre Tucker, and the multi-talented Brock Bowers (raiders.com). Regardless, of the situation, Aiden O’Connell would remain a low-end #2 QB in any league until the dust settles in Vegas.

Final Take on O’Connell for 2024

There are a couple of perspectives to look at when analyzing Aidan O’Connell’s abilities and potential. He has a very strong and accurate arm and he’s able to make good decisions a majority of the time when running the offense. The downside for O’Connell is his mobility in moving outside the pocket, which he has worked on in training camp.

Outside of fans who are invested in the Las Vegas Raiders and their outlook for 2024, many see this quarterback competition as being very underwhelming. This will be another wait-and-see situation to watch unfold.

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Article originally written by Bruce Nelson