The Raiders have already chosen the safe opening act for their quarterback plan, but the real story in Las Vegas is the handoff that’s supposed to come later. Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 overall pick, is waiting behind Kirk Cousins, who has been named the starter over the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner and Aidan O’Connell.
For now, Klint Kubiak is leaning on the veteran. The first-year Raiders head coach pointed to Cousins’ performance and leadership during his first offseason in Las Vegas, and on paper the case is straightforward enough: Cousins brings an 88-77-2 regular-season record and the kind of experience that makes him the likeliest choice to win games in 2026.
But that advantage only lasts if the Raiders can support him.
The biggest concern in this rebuild sits in front of the quarterback, and it’s the offensive line. Tyler Linderbaum gives Las Vegas a strong center and should help both pre-snap communication and Ashton Jeanty’s running lanes, but the rest of the group comes with plenty of uncertainty.
The right side struggled last season, with DJ Glaze and Jackson Powers-Johnson both ranking in the bottom third of the league at their spots, per Pro Football Focus. Spencer Burford graded out even worse at left guard.
Then there’s Kolton Miller, who adds another layer of uncertainty after an injury-filled 2025 season. The question is whether his high-ankle injuries will affect his lateral quickness or his ability to hold up against elite edge rushers.
That setup is a rough one for Cousins, a pocket passer at 38 who is far less mobile than he’s been at any point in his career. If protection breaks down, the veteran’s strengths can quickly turn into liabilities.
Mendoza, on the other hand, looks better suited to absorb that kind of stress. He may not match Cousins’ post-snap release time yet, but that’s a trait that can improve.
What he already offers is movement. Bootlegs and sprint-outs give him a way to work around shaky protection, and that matters when receivers aren’t open right away.
He’s already shown he can handle being under siege. At Cal in 2024, he played through an offensive line that allowed 3.85 sacks and 8.54 TFL per game and still produced more than 3,000 passing yards and 16 touchdown passes.
That’s why the timing matters. If the Raiders start to drift in 2026, the argument for switching to Mendoza will only get stronger.
There’s no point waiting just to wait. Cousins can provide stability, but Mendoza offers a chance to build something.
And if the rookie needs patience, he has already shown he can live with the long view. He spent three years in Berkeley, helped make that program bowl eligible, and then delivered one of Indiana’s signature modern quarterback runs over a 16-0 march to the national championship, but only after the right pieces were in place.
Las Vegas may not have all those pieces yet. That’s exactly why getting Mendoza on the field during his rookie year could be the smartest move if the season starts to go sideways.
In Other News...
Raiders Offense Suddenly Has One Touches Question Fans Can't Ignore
The Raiders head into 2026 with an offense that looks very different from the one fans have been sorting through for the past few seasons, and the roster changes give this group a very different kind of ceiling. Kirk Cousins brings the passing-game structure, Brock Bowers remains the kind of weapon defenses have to account for on every snap, and Ashton Jeanty adds a layer of backfield power that can shape how the whole unit is used. Add in young pass-catchers like Tre Tucker and Malik Benson, plus Mike Washington Jr. as another name to watch in the mix, and there are enough moving parts here to make the offense feel loaded with possibilities.
What makes it interesting is how tightly all of those roles may connect once the season starts. If Cousins is throwing at a steady clip, Bowers and the receivers can feed off that volume, while Jeantys workload could determine how balanced or pass-heavy the offense becomes from week to week. For bettors looking at individual markets, that creates a familiar Raiders question with a new cast: which player is actually set up to get the touches that matter most, and which one is going to be left waiting for opportunity? [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Offensive Staff Overhaul Says Everything About Last Seasons Problems
The Raiders changes on offense say plenty about how the organization felt about last seasons problems, especially up front. Las Vegas struggled with its offensive line in 2025, and internal sources described the coaching there as among the worst they had seen, a stinging assessment that helps explain why the team moved quickly to reset that side of the ball.
Rick Dennison arrives as the new offensive line coach for 2026, with the expectation that he can bring cleaner fundamentals and better technique to a unit that badly needed both. The overhaul did not stop there, either, as the Raiders also upgraded at quarterbacks coach by hiring Mike Sullivan, whose long NFL background and prior working relationship with offensive coordinator Kubiak should give the staff more continuity as it tries to stabilize the offense. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Finally Have A Rebuild Fans Can Actually Believe In
The Raiders have spent the past few years talking about change, but this one looks different because the organization is actually built around it. Las Vegas has leaned into youth at nearly every level, from the roster to the coaching staff to the front office, and the result is a rebuild that feels more deliberate than cosmetic. General manager John Spytek and head coach Klint Kubiak are part of that younger core, giving the franchise a chance to grow in the same direction instead of chasing quick fixes.
Kubiaks presence matters beyond the sideline, especially with the Raiders trying to establish a clearer identity after years of instability. The organization also got a nod when Kubiak and director of college scouting Brandon Yeargan were included on The Athletics list of 50 NFL coaches, executives and strategists who are changing the league. For a team that has heard plenty of promises about its future, the challenge now is turning that organizational reset into something fans can trust once the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]