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QB Aidan O'Connell selected by Raiders in 4th round

On3 imageby: Tom Dienhart04/29/23TomDienhart1

Aidan O’Connell is off the board, drafted in the fourth round with the 135th pick by the Las Vegas Raiders. The last Boilermaker picked by the Raiders was S Stuart Schweigert in 2004. The last Purdue quarterback selected was Curtis Painter by the Colts in 2009.

O’Connell joins fellow Boilermaker signal-caller David Blough in the NFL. Blough recently signed with the Cardinals and has played the last four seasons in the NFL with the Lions, Vikings and Cardinals after originally signing with the Browns. Blough and O’Connell were Boilermaker teammates in 2017-18.

O’Connell enjoyed a storybook six-year career in West Lafayette. He joined Purdue in 2017 as a walk-on from Stevenson High in Lincolnshire, Ill., after his lone offer was from D3 Wheaton College.

O’Connell did not play in 2017 and 2018 but miraculously found himself starting in 2019 after injuries befell the top three signal-callers. For the rest of his career, O’Connell was the primary quarterback for Purdue, making 27 starts from 2019-22 and finishing his career with 9,129 passing yards and 67 touchdowns.

The 6-3, 210-pound O’Connell led the Big Ten with 290.8 yards passing per game in 2022. He completed 64 percent of his passes for 3,490 yards with 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. O’Connell was a second-team All-Big Ten choice by the coaches and third team by the media.

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