The Las Vegas Raiders saw a disastrous 2025 campaign and decided to completely flip the script this season. Drafting Fernando Mendoza with the first overall pick, they also signed Kirk Cousins as a veteran presence while bringing in Klint Kubiak as the new head coach.
Rather than throw their rookie into the fire to begin the season, the organization wants to take a more patient approach by beginning the year with the four-time Pro Bowler under center. A former quarterback, though, isn’t sure if that is the best move for the team.
Fernando Mendoza Is Ready for the Starting Job
Mendoza is coming into the league with an incredible collegiate resume. Last season, at Indiana, he won the national championship and the Heisman Trophy, thereby emerging as an overwhelming favorite to be drafted first overall.
Still, the Raiders want to be patient with his development, allowing him to ease into the NFL over the course of the year. As part of that development, he has gotten significant burn in their first two preseason games.
However, for Brady Quinn, who spent seven seasons in the NFL, the tape from Mendoza is already compelling. During an appearance on the “Dan Patrick Show,” he was adamant that the Raiders needed to start the rookie as soon as possible.
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“After watching the first preseason game, I was like, ‘Oh, he should probably be the starter,” Quinn confessed. As someone who spent seven seasons in the league as a quarterback, he can offer valuable insight into the position, and he expanded on the Mendoza tape.
“Just watch the zipe from the ball coming out of his hands in comparison to Kirk, watching him move, even seeing at times him to kind of see the field, move through some of the progressions, I was like, ‘All right, why don’t we just go ahead and start the clock on Fernando Mendoza?”
“After watching one preseason game, I was like, ‘Oh! He should probably be starting.’” – @Brady_Quinn on Fernando Mendoza pic.twitter.com/jy5DzbfphU
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) August 27, 2026
While he understood the value of having Cousins in the lineup and what allowing Mendoza to grow behind him could bring, Quinn seemed unsure that the veteran was the better player at this point in his career, especially after the injuries.
“He’d be a great guy for young quarterbacks to learn from. But I also think he could be that insurance policy for you, where if put in Mendoza and he’s not coming along the way you’d like him to, you can also give him a bit of a break, or you also have that quarterback who can kind of be there to help guide him along through the entire process.”
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While the merits of starting Mendoza early are hard to ignore, recent history isn’t on his side. Former first overall picks like Cam Ward, Caleb Williams, Bryce Young, and Trevor Lawrence all had disappointing first seasons in the league.
Mendoza going down that route might not be ideal for the Raiders, especially as they try to figure out the future of the franchise. Winning games might not be the number one priority right now, given the state Cousins is in.
Last year, after he slotted back into a starting role for the Atlanta Falcons, the veteran quarterback ranked at number 24 on PFN’s Quarterback Impact Metrics.
Ultimately, though, the call is going to reside with the team, but it will be interesting to see if the final game of the preseason can change their mind.
