In the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, the Las Vegas Raiders selected Purdue quarterback Aidan O'Connell with the No. 135 overall pick. During his time at Purdue, O'Connell started his career as a walk-on, but then would go on to shatter school records and leave as one of the best passers in school history.
While he was not one of the bigger-name quarterbacks in the draft class in 2023, he is displaying that maybe the Raiders got themselves a steal on Day 3. O'Connell has come in and turned heads during his first training camp at the NFL level, and is doing so in a jersey number that many fans are familiar with.
Despite wearing No. 16 at Purdue, O'Connell was donning Derek Carr's old No. 4 when he first appeared in a Raiders uniform, something he explained on Wednesday. ESPN's Paul Gutierrez asked O'Connell about the switch from No. 16 at Purdue to No. 4 with the Raiders, and this is what the rookie quarterback had to say:
""It was the number that was given to me. I really don't care what number I play with; I'll play with any number. So, I don't worry too much about that.""Aidan O'Connell to ESPN's Paul Gutierrez
Raiders prepare for joint practices on Thursday
Thursday starts joint practices with the San Francisco 49ers, as the Las Vegas Raiders will prepare to open up their 2023 preseason slate with the 49ers on Sunday. This will be the big test for the Raiders starters, as most won't play much on Sunday, so the focus will be on how they can stop the 49ers playmakers over the next two days.
The 49ers go into the 2023 NFL season as one of the best teams in the NFC, and certainly have some of the more playmaking offensive players in that conference. Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, an Deebo Samuel are a heck of a trio to have to deal with, and if Brock Purdy is healthy after coming off a shoulder injury, they should be a tough team to beat.