The Fernando Mendoza question means everything for Raiders in 2026 NFL season

The Fernando Mendoza question means everything for Raiders in 2026 NFL season originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

>The Las Vegas Raiders didn't have much question of what to do with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

>The questions began after they picked Fernando Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy winner and national champion from the Indiana Hoosiers.

>And really, it's one question: When is he going to play?

>Because the Raiders clearly don't want him to start right away. They signed Kirk Cousins to prevent that.

>The Raiders still have Aiden O'Connell, too, not that he'll be a long-term impediment.

>In the start of the offseason program, Mendoza was even getting snaps with the third-team offense. Vegas is taking this one slow.

>Is the slow pace now actually indicative of anything?

>"Of course, this is far from the first time we've heard a team talk and plan this way around a first-round quarterback," ESPN's Dan Graziano wrote as part of a new article on Thursday. "What inevitably happens is that the team starts losing games and faces pressure to play the rookie sooner than it said it wanted to. (Very often, the rookie plays well enough to convince us the team had nothing to worry about.)"

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>Graziano goes on to sound quite assured that Mendoza will get time this season, and maybe earlier than everyone is expecting.

>"Unless the Cousins-led Raiders shock us all by starting out hot and staying in contention all season, we're going to see Mendoza at some point," Graziano writes. "Heck, if he looks good enough in training camp, we could see him start in Week 1. But as of right now, the questions are about when he'll be ready and how long the Raiders can wait before they feel like they have to play him."

>Mendoza is hoping to be a long-time starter in the NFL. The Raiders certainly want that, too. They've just got to get the path to that point right.

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