A QB battle is brewing in Las Vegas.
After 9 years of quarterback stability for the Raiders with Derek Carr on the helm, L.V. hoped veteran QB Jimmy Garoppolo could be the reply final season.
That was not the case, as Garoppolo struggled on the sphere and with accidents.
As an alternative, 2023 fourth-round choose Aidan O’Connell emerged because the beginning quarterback for almost all of the season and has an opportunity to retain that function for this upcoming season.
Nonetheless, the Raiders additionally signed veteran QB Gardner Minshew to a two-year, $25 million contract to compete for the beginning job.
Will the Raiders reward O’Connell’s strong play as a rookie, or will they pivot in a brand new route with the veteran to start out the season?
Let’s take a look at the percentages at DraftKings Sportsbook as of June 5.
RAIDERS QB TO PLAY FIRST SNAP — WEEK 1
Gardner Minshew, -225 (guess $10 to win $14 whole)
Aidan O’Connell, +172 (guess $10 to win $27 whole)
Minshew is a former sixth-round choose who will now swimsuit up for his fourth crew in six years. He began most of final season with the Colts, changing 2023 fourth total choose Anthony Richardson, who went down with a season-ending damage in Week 5.
Minshew had a strong season for Indy, finishing 62% of his passes, throwing for over 3,300 yards, and main a younger Colts crew to a 9-8 file and one recreation in need of the playoffs.
As for O’Connell, the Purdue product was drafted within the fourth spherical and was the eighth quarterback taken within the 2023 draft.
O’Connell began 33 video games over 4 years at Purdue. He threw for over 9,000 yards and 65 touchdowns all through his collegiate profession, together with his 534-yard passing efficiency within the 2021 Music Metropolis Bowl, which was the second most yards ever thrown in a bowl recreation by a Large Ten QB.
After being unexpectedly thrown into the beginning QB place as a rookie, the 25-year-old discovered success as a starter. He completed with a 5-5 file, together with an enormous Christmas Day win over the defending champion Chiefs and a 63-21 win over the Chargers in Week 15.
Statistically, O’Connell had the second-best season of any rookie QB, finishing 62% of his passes and ending the season with an 83.9 QB score, although head coach Josh McDaniels was fired after a 3-5 begin.
O’Connell received three of his final 4 begins with an 8:0 landing to interception ratio.
Raiders coach Antonio Pierce has proven pleasure all through the offseason relating to O’Connell’s rookie marketing campaign and his potential future within the NFL.
“He did a hell of a job for us. You are speaking a couple of child that has the psychological toughness to play within the Nationwide Soccer League.”
At DraftKings Sportsbook, the Raiders Over/Below win whole sits at 6.5, with 12-1 odds to win the AFC West, 60-1 odds to win the AFC, and 100-1 odds to win the Tremendous Bowl.
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