The Las Vegas Raiders made major changes to their quarterbacks room this offseason. Longtime starter Derek Carr was released, and Jimmy Garoppolo was brought in to replace him. But some fans are ready to pin their hopes on rookie signal caller Aidan O'Connell instead.

O'Connell turned in an efficient performance in leading the Raiders to a 34-7 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in preseason. He went 15-for-18 passing for 141 yards and threw a touchdown to Keelan Cole Sr. in three quarters of play.

For some fans, that was enough to christen O'Connell the quarterback of the future in Las Vegas. “Looks like they found their Future,” one Twitter user speculated. Another fan predicted that O'Connell would “be Running the League for the next 13 years at least.”

But for all those Raiders fans who have pegged O'Connell as “the next Tom Brady,” others were more measured, noting that while O'Connell was impressive, the 49ers were not playing their starters.

Social media buzz aside, Aidan O'Connell does not have a clear path to playing time with the Raiders in 2023. The team paid big money in free agency to acquire Jimmy Garoppolo. They also brought in Brian Hoyer to provide depth and backup Garoppolo. Both quarterbacks have experience playing for Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels when the tactician was the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots.

However, Garoppolo has consistently failed to remain healthy throughout his NFL career. And if the Raiders fall behind in the AFC West standings as the season goes on, playing a 37-year old Hoyer would be an exercise in futility.

If nothing else, O'Connell's debut provided Raiders fans with hope during the most optimistic time of the year for NFL teams.