Preseason is when players make their case–be it vying for a starting spot, getting a place on the 53-man roster, or whatever the case may be. It also could work the other way. Players who don't perform up to par in the preseason could watch their playing time slip right from under them. Or, in a worst-case scenario, see their spot on the 53-man roster go to someone else. That's happening all across the NFL. The Las Vegas Raiders are just one example.

The Raiders opened their preseason with a bang by demolishing their longtime and once Bay Area cohorts in the San Francisco 49ers, 34-7. A lot of players excelled in that game and put themselves firmly on the team's radar.

Two players, in particular, really stood out though. With that, they saw their stock rise after that game.

2. Aidan O'Connell

Aidan O'Connell put up some big numbers over his final two seasons at Purdue. In his junior season, he threw for 3,712 yards while competing 71.6% of his passes and tossing 28 touchdowns. A year later, as more Boilermakers made their way to the NFL, O'Connell's numbers took a dip. But, O'Connell still helped lead Purdue to the Big Ten championship game before declaring for the 2023 NFL Draft.

After signing Jimmy Garappolo to be their stopgap starting quarterback in the 2023 offseason, the Raiders added to their quarterback by taking a shot on O'Connell in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Now it's worth remembering that it wasn't too long ago that the Raiders took a shot on a quarterback in the fourth round in 2016. A fourth-round QB did emerge as a legitimate NFL starter in that draft. Unfortunately for the Raiders, it wasn't Connor Cook, the player they took. It was someone named Dak Prescott, who was drafted 35 picks after the team made their pick.

It was only one preseason game, but Aidan O'Connell looked much more like fourth-round success stories like Dak Prescott and Kirk Cousins than a fourth-round blunder like Connor Cook. O'Connell completed 15 of his 18 passes, racked up 141 yards and tossed a touchdown to veteran wide receiver Keelan Cole Sr. O'Connell looked sharp and poised going through his reads and progressions and was timely and accurate once he decided to deliver the ball.

Sure, it was a preseason game against backups or third-stringers, but who cares. O'Connell seemed like a legit NFL starting quarterback. He probably won't usurp Jimmy Garappolo as the Raiders' QB1, but if Garappolo were to suffer another injury, O'Connell's played like someone who could take an opportunity and never let it go if it were to arise.

1. Zamir White

While Josh Jacobs is holding out from Raiders training camp, someone has to fill in at running back in the meantime. Enter Zamir White. The Raiders drafted White in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft out of the University of Georgia. White isn't much of a pass catcher and isn't going to shake many defenders out of their boots, but he is a tough, physical, and fast runner. He ran a 4.40 40-yard dash at the NFL combine at six feet and 215 pounds. It shows up on tape.

White's statline wasn't superb against the 49ers. He finished the game with 43 yards on 13 carries. But he ran the ball well and got the overwhelming majority of reps with the starters. He also pushed in a touchdown at the goal line on the Raiders' first possession of the game.

Even if Josh Jacobs returns to the Raiders before the start of the season, White is going to get more work than he did a year ago when he toted the rock just 17 times for 70 yards. Asking Josh Jacobs to handle 393 touches again is unsustainable no matter the circumstances. Zamir White has earned more touches regardless and has seen his stock rise in camp.

Moving Forward

Aidan O'Connell and Zamir White likely won't be NFL starters any time soon, but they have put themselves on the radars of the Raiders' coaching staff. Their stocks are rising in camp and the preseason, and they will both bear monitoring as training camp and the preseason progress.