Josh McDaniels and the Raiders make a surprise trade for QB in the Draft

The Las Vegas Raiders have been a very interesting subject of focus all throughout the 2023 NFL offseason because of their situation at the quarterback position. Of course, it all started with Derek Carr getting benched late last season and being replaced by Jarrett Stidham, who actually became a coveted free agent of the Raiders’ rival Denver Broncos.

After Carr’s benching, the writing was on the wall for major change at QB in Las Vegas, and Josh McDaniels ultimately went back to his roots. The Raiders let Carr go (to the Saints) and brought in former Patriots draft pick and 49ers starter Jimmy Garoppolo, who obviously has plenty of familiarity with the staff and system in Vegas.

Garoppolo’s arrival brought with it even more question marks about whether the Raiders would still be in on quarterbacks in the 2023 NFL Draft. It feels like for the better part of the last 10 years, people have been waiting for the Raiders to use a high draft pick on the QB position and it simply hasn’t happened. They passed on quarterbacks throughout the first three rounds of the 2023 Draft, but at the end of round four, they pounced on a potential sleeper…

Las Vegas Raiders jump on sleeper QB Aidan O’Connell in 4th round trade

Over the last two seasons, we’ve seen tremendous growth from O’Connell at Purdue. Is he the most dynamic quarterback athletically in this draft class? I mean, absolutely not. He isn’t much of a threat with his legs but what is the main thing that guys who don’t run well need to do at QB? They need to be able to navigate the pocket, keep their eyes downfield, and be able to avoid pressure.

O’Connell does that quite well. He isn’t going to go out there and rack up 500 rushing yards per season for you, by any means, but in Josh McDaniels’ offense, I think the fit is pretty clear. We have seen some concepts at Purdue in terms of getting the ball out quickly to receivers, hitting guys in stride, and allowing them to do the work after the catch that will translate for O’Connell coming to the NFL level.

Let’s not get carried away — this is a fourth-round pick. But you see NFL teams coveting QBs in this year’s draft much more so than last year because we’ve seen how crucial it is to have depth at that position, and not just depth, but quality depth.

So we see, NFL executives like the fact that O’Connell has a high football IQ, he gets the ball out fast, and he processes things well. All of those factors are going to be essential to operate the Josh McDaniels offense, regardless if it’s just as a backup, spot starter, or whatever. The Raiders obviously felt like they needed to prioritize this particular player when they had a shot to get just about everyone else, and that says a lot.