Las Vegas Raiders' X-Factor is being set up for a successful 2024 season when no one believes in him
The Las Vegas Raiders have a lot of unknowns surrounding them going into this new season. No one really knows if they will be an elite team, or stay the same team that hovers around the outside of the playoffs. They have the roster to be a playoff team. When you look at the roster […]
The Las Vegas Raiders have a lot of unknowns surrounding them going into this new season. No one really knows if they will be an elite team, or stay the same team that hovers around the outside of the playoffs. They have the roster to be a playoff team.
When you look at the roster up and down, it's one of the better ones in the league, it just is fairly unknown and one could even say bad, at the most important position on the roster. But, if you ask me, Aidan O'Connell, the presumed starter to take back the reigns from where he left off in 2023, could be a real X-Factor.
No one thinks he is going to be good. And, that's fair based on what we saw last season. He did struggle quite a bit. But, he was a rookie and was thrown into the fire. He's a huge X-Factor, and I'm not the only one that thinks that, as Pro Football Focus does, too.
X-factor for 2024: QB Aidan O’Connell
Aidan O’Connell was thrown into the fire a little sooner than the rookie fourth-rounder probably expected, with mixed results. His 65.9 PFF grade ranked 28th out of 38 quarterbacks, though there were some solid performances mixed in, particularly in his first game against the Chiefs, where he completed 23-of-33 passes for 248 yards and a score. He also made two big-time throws and zero turnover-worthy plays, forming an 83.7 passing grade. With all the big-name quarterbacks gone by the time the Raiders picked at No. 13 in the 2024 NFL Draft, this quarterback job will be O’Connell’s to lose. And if he does underperform, the Raiders have probably the most competent backup quarterback in the league in Gardner Minshew.
Last season O'Connell struggled when he was thrown into the fire, but that's normal for a rookie quarterback drafted in the fourth round. He did, though, make some pretty big plays when it counted. He also made some pretty bad plays. That's another reason that he is an X-Factor – we simply don't know what he will be. And, you add in the layer that he finally has a full offseason of not being a rookie and getting those first-team resp all offseason, and that's valuable as well.
The Raiders have done a good job of putting great weapons around O'Connell to help him as well. They have Davante Adams, one of the best wide receivers this game has ever seen. They have Meyers, Mayer, Bowers, and even signed guys like Michael Gallup this offseason. The Raiders have faith in their X-Factor, and that's pretty obvious.
Aidan O’Connell is already working on his mobility and throwing on the run at Raiders OTAs
He’s out there working.
