O'Connell is exactly the kind of QB3 a team can feel good about carrying: he has started games, knows this building and did enough in the preseason to avoid becoming an easy roster cut. He is not competing on projection alone; he has already shown he can settle an offense and give the staff usable snaps.
Strengths: Experienced within the organization, generally composed from the pocket and productive enough in past starts to be a credible emergency starter. His familiarity with the system and comeback work in preseason make him valuable depth.
Weaknesses: His ceiling is tied to structure rather than rare off-platform play. If pressure consistently gets home or the offense needs explosive improvisation, he has less room for error than the league's more athletic starters.
