Raiders Aidan O'Connell ranked too low on list of 2023 Starting QBs

Once he took over as interim head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, Antonio Pierce immediately named Aidan O'Connell his starting quarterback for the rest of the 2023 NFL season. O'Connell would end up starting ten games for the Raiders, posting a 5-5 record, while tossing 12 touchdowns against seven interceptions.

Over at NFL.com, Nick Shook ranked all 66 quarterbacks who started a game in 2023, and O'Connell was listed way too low.

Raiders QB ranked No. 27 overall in 2023

There was no shocking name across the top of the list, as Lamar Jackson, the league's MVP was ranked No. 1, followed by Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes. Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford, two NFC quarterback who led their teams to the playoffs in 2023 rounded out the top-5, while Dak Prescott, Brock Purdy, CJ Stroud, Tua Tagovailoa, and Kirk Cousins all finished in the top-10.

When it came to guys who started at quarterback for the Raiders, the assessment was fair for Jimmy Garoppolo and Brian Hoyer, as they were ranked 49th and 57th, respectively. However, for O'Connell, ranking him at No. 27 overall was way too low for what he was able to accomplish in Year 1.

Taking over after the bye week, O'Connell got off to a slow start, getting shutout by the Minnesota Vikings, but the Raiders went 5-3 down the stretch, beating all three AFC West teams. O'Connell was stunning in the 63-point outburst against Los Angeles, and over his last four games, he had eight touchdowns against zero interceptions.

That is some solid stuff from a guy picked in the fourth round who was only supposed to hold a clipboard going into the season. Some of the guys ranked ahead of him, like Deshaun Watson, Kyler Murray, Derek Carr, Justin Fields, and Anthony Richardson did not accomplish nearly as much as he did in 2023, so if you are ranking based on last season, O'Connell should have been in the top-20.

O'Connell will have to fight to retain the starting job in 2024, but if you are basing his work on only last season, he was much better than the 27th-ranked starter in the league.