AidanO'Connell

News: 1 day agoO'Connell completed 27 of 40 passes for 227 yards, one touchdown and one interception in Sunday's 32-13 loss to the Steelers.

Spin: O'Connell took over as the Raiders' starting quarterback and faced a tough test against the Pittsburgh defense. He got off to a hot start by leading Las Vegas to a touchdown on the team's opening possession, and he went 4-for-4 for 45 yards while working primarily in short areas of the field. While O'Connell remained accurate throughout the game, he was hesitant to push the ball downfield and had only one completion of more than 20 yards. Assuming he stays under center in Week 7 against the Rams, O'Connell could be a bit more aggressive, though expectations should remain in check.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Though O'Connell performed admirably in a nine-start audition as a rookie under coach Antonio Pierce to conclude last season, he'll be tasked with competing for a job in 2024. O'Connell scored 17-plus fantasy points in three of his final four games, hinting at fantasy matchups value, but for the season had well-below-average 1.7 TD/INT and 16.7% off-target rates. That caused the Raiders to bring in veteran Gardner Minshew as competition. O'Connell would need to impress the coaching staff, either in the preseason or season's early weeks, to be worth a fantasy add.