The Las Vegas Raiders made Indiana Hoosiers standout Fernando Mendoza the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. But even though they see him as the future of the franchise, it doesn’t sound like the team is in a rush to make him the full-time starter.
The Raiders released their initial depth chart ahead of Thursday night’s preseason opener against the Arizona Cardinals. At quarterback, veteran Kirk Cousins was named the starter, while Mendoza was listed behind him as QB2.
While it is only a preseason depth chart and a lot can change, it sounds like this is more a sign of the overall approach that the Raiders seem to be taking with Mendoza.
As NFL insider Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk noted, while most teams in today’s NFL tend to get their first-round rookie quarterbacks onto the field as early as possible, Las Vegas appears to be taking a more cautious route with Mendoza.
“The Raiders seem to be intent on starting the season with Cousins under center, and to not having a true competition between Cousins and Mendoza. It’s an approach that cuts against the modern approach of getting highly-drafted quarterbacks ready and putting them on the field, if only to give them the reps that will help the game slow down for them sooner rather than later,” Florio wrote for Pro Football Talk this week.
Still, Florio believes it is only a matter of time before Mendoza takes over the starting job. Even if Cousins opens the year as QB1, the expectation is that the rookie could be under center for the Raiders before the 2026 campaign comes to an end.
“The initial Las Vegas depth chart contains no real surprises. If Mendoza isn’t playing by the end of the 2026 season, that will be a major surprise,” Florio added.
The depth chart also appears to line up with the way both Mendoza and the Raiders have described the quarterback situation throughout the offseason.
During an appearance on the team’s Upon Further Review podcast, Mendoza described the quarterback “competition” as something more collaborative than adversarial. He explained that he and Cousins are “competing with each other, not competing against each other.”
“Competing with each other [is] pushing each other to be the best quarterback we can possibly be for the Las Vegas Raiders, and to enable [us] to then win as many games as possible,” Mendoza said. “Against [is] withholding information, wishing maybe not the best intent on somebody.”
It’s also worth noting that seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady is a part-owner of the Raiders franchise, and he has been openly critical of the practice of rushing quarterbacks into games and not giving them proper development.
Regardless, the Raiders will eventually have to decide who takes the majority of the snaps once the regular season begins. For now, Cousins appears to have the edge, but Mendoza’s development will be one of the biggest storylines to monitor as the season progresses.
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