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The Las Vegas Raiders are one of the few teams in the league with a legit quarterback battle going on, where you don't know which of the two guys is better, or who will be the starter come Week 1. In this case, it's either Aidan O'Connell, the second-year guy who took over last season when Antonio Pierce took over as interim head coach.
He is coming in with a full season under his belt now, no more things rookies have to worry about, and a lot more comfortable than he was the year before. And, just by watching practice, he's easily gotten better and has worked on what he needed to, like his mobility. On the other hand, it's Gardner Minshew, who nearly got his team to the playoffs last season, and has won a lot of games throughout his career. But has been a career backup in this league.
Both guys have some good talent. But the battle will determine who the better guy is at that moment, as head coach Antonio Pierce has said relentlessly: the best man will win. On Tuesday, during the first day of mandatory minicamp, it was O'Connell who had the big day. He even made some throws that awed his teammates.
"They're going at it," cornerback Nate Hobbs said when asked how the quarterback battle is going. "AOC had a hell of a day today; he was throwing some balls. I forgot – even as a teammate, I forgot he had it in him. And I know he has it in him, but he was just making it known again every day, 'I'm here, you're going to have to work for this job.' And then Minshew, he got me today on third and long, like I was saying, I knew that he was trying to holler at me.
"Minshew got to the top of the drop, gave me a little pump fake and I broke on it. Most quarterbacks can't do that, they don't have that awareness, they don't have the poise, they don't have the – they're just trying to get the ball off on third down. He gave me the top of the drop pump, broke on the ball, and high-lowed me, first down. And then he pointed at me after, that pissed me off. I jumped offside the next play, I was in my head. It's going to be down to the wire. But I just think it breeds excellence. Each guy, there's no time for rust, they bring out the best in you."
It seems like some of the fan base is forgetting some of the throws that O'Connell can make, too. Not only does his college tape have a ton of highlights of him making crazy throws, but even look back to last season - some of the throws he made on a very bad offense. Of the three quarterbacks that played, O'Connell threw the two longest completions of the season.
In college at Purdue, he was the most accurate passer in their franchise history, and that's with guys like Drew Brees playing there in the past. He can throw the ball, and he has a ton of arm talent when it comes to making pinpoint accurate throws. His biggest thing is making the right play, and having good awareness in the pocket. If he can improve that, he's destined to win the job.
