There have been some rookie growing pains for Aidan O’Connell this season. The Las Vegas Raiders‘ fourth-round pick is 2-3 as a starter and has thrown four touchdowns to six interceptions.
Despite the inconsistent play, he still has the confidence of star wide receiver Davante Adams. He revealed what he’d like to see from O’Connell for the rest of the season.
“I just want to see him play to the best of his abilities and just trust himself and do what he’s been doing and do the things that when he had a real great rhythm in the preseason,” Adams said during his December 7 media availability. “Just kind of remind himself of what he can do and just keep building. It’s no pressure from any of us and we love him and we’re supporting him through every step of the way. I just want him to be him and be comfortable out there.”
Adams hasn’t crossed 100 receiving yards in a game where O’Connell has started. He hasn’t had more than 100 receiving yards since Week 3 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. One strategy for O’Connell to be more productive could be trying to target Adams more.
DAVANTE. ADAMS.
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Aidan O’Connell Discusses Takeaways From Bye Week
The Raiders have gone 2-2 since head coach Josh McDaniels was fired and replaced by Antonio Pierce. The team finally had their bye week, which gave them a chance to reset after back-to-back losses.
Aidan O’Connell discussed what he took away from his first bye week since coming into the NFL.
“I think we’ve played some good teams over the last four games and have been in every game up until the end and so we know we have the talent in the locker room to do it,” O’Connell said during his December 7 media availability. “It’s going to take practicing hard, executing well in practice, giving ourselves confidence to go out on Sunday and play well.”
The bye week could be beneficial for O’Connell, who was unexpectedly thrust into the starting role after McDaniels’ firing.
Davante Adams Talks Close Losses
Prior to the bye week, the Raiders were up 14-0 against the Kansas City Chiefs before losing 31-17. The week before, they were close to beating the Miami Dolphins but lost 20-13.
The Raiders have been in a lot of games they’ve lost this season and Davante Adams is urging the team to stay aggressive.
“From what everybody’s saying out there, it’s kind of true,” Adams said. “Like, we are close, we are right there, it’s just a matter of learning how to finish, and it’s been kind of the same pattern since last year of just learning how to finish these games. We had opportunity in Miami, we weren’t necessarily up, but we were up this past game and gave it away like we did to them the year before at their place. So, we just got to find a way to hold on to these leads and build on them and stay aggressive as coaches and as players.”
At 5-7, the Raiders aren’t out of the playoff race but they likely need to at least win four of their final five games to be in the mix.
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Raiders WR Davante Adams Reveals What He Needs to See From Aidan O’Connell