Draftniks plan, and God laughs. Quarterbacks were selected with three of the first four picks in the draft, but the Raiders found a guy in the fourth round who was a lot better than all of them in the first week of action.
Aidan O’Connell, a fourth-rounder out of Purdue, looked like a Brock Purdy kind of guy in his preseason debut, with the ball coming out accurately and on time and the offense moving up and down the field. He went 15 of 18 for 141 yards and a touchdown, putting up more stats than those three more highly regarded quarterbacks – combined.
O’Connell has a lesser arm and isn’t mobile, but he looks awfully comfortable running an offense. I would guess that he’ll be Las Vegas’ backup, and I’m not sure that offense will decline much if Jimmy Garoppolo (who never stays healthy for long) misses some games.
If we’re in one of those Superflex or best-ball drafts, with 40 quarterbacks being chosen, I’m thinking O’Connell probably should be rostered. Seriously. When you factor in the durability of the starting quarterbacks, I think O’Connell grades out as an above-average backup.
| ROOKIE QUARTERBACKS IN PRESEASON OPENERS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | C | A | Yd | TD | Int | Rate |
| O'Connell | 15 | 18 | 141 | 1 | 0 | 117.8 |
| Richardson | 7 | 12 | 67 | 0 | 1 | 39.2 |
| Young | 4 | 6 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 72.2 |
| Stroud | 2 | 4 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 17.7 |
The more notable decision-making, however, is still between the top guys. They’ve completed a combined 13 preseason passes so far, but I believe I’m locked in on what will be my permanent order for those guys. I like Richardson a lot more than Young, and I see Stroud as a distant third.
Richardson opened with an interception on his first series, but he really impressed. With his size and speed, there’s a Cam Newton element to his game. On his first scramble, he met a defensive back on the sideline and knocked him 2 yards backwards. And with the way Richardson can gun it, maybe I should be comparing him to Josh Allen rather than Newton. He can sling it, and he was comfortable settling for short throws.
Richardson’s most impressive throw was a bomb that should have gone for a 34-yard touchdown. Perfectly thrown, but Alec Pierce dropped it (not a concentration drop, but a catch he definitely needs to make). With Richardson’s talent and playing style, it wouldn’t surprise me if he finished with top-10 quarterbacking numbers. Reasonable, I think, to start considering him about 15 quarterbacks in.
Young is tiny. He’s listed at 5-foot-10 and 204 pounds, and I think he might be 10-15 pounds lighter. He looks like a little kid, and he doesn’t have elite mobility skills like a Kyler Murray. I worry about his ability to stay healthy. I saw him body slammed on his first preseason possession by Solomon Thomas, and I didn’t know if he would get up. It won’t take too many of those before Young is shelved.
Stroud (like Richardson) threw a pick on his first possession, and there was another one that could have been intercepted. He also retreated into a 15-yard sack. It’s early; no doubt he’ll improve. But I don’t see anything from Stroud yet to indicate he might hang with Richardson in a fantasy league.
A few years back, the Dolphins took a small Alabama quarterback (Tua), with the Chargers getting a bigger, better quarterback a few picks later (Herbert). I’m thinking it won’t be long before we’ve got a similar narrative with Young and Richardson.
—Ian Allan