The Raiders signed free agent Jimmy Garoppolo this offseason to be their starting quarterback, but they made clear they hoped to draft a quarterback at some point this weekend.
That turned out to be the last pick of the fourth round.
The Raiders traded with the Patriots, giving up picks No. 144 and 214 to draft Purdue quarterback Aidan O’Connell at 135.
The team spent time with some of the top quarterback prospects during the pre-draft process and used their sixth pick of the 2023 draft on O’Connell.
O’Connell started eighth on the depth chart at Purdue when he walked on in 2017. He made his first start in 2019.
O’Connell finished his career with 27 starts and completed 66.7 percent of his passes for 9,219 yards with 65 touchdowns and 30 interception.
