Raiders Slot Fernando Mendoza at QB2 Behind Kirk Cousins

The Raiders dropped their first unofficial depth chart, and it tells you exactly how Las Vegas plans to open the season: Kirk Cousins under center, rookie Fernando Mendoza parked behind him at QB2. No manufactured competition, no split reps, just a clear pecking order out of the gate.

Cousins is the guy, at least for now. That's a veteran coming off a 2025 season where he threw for 1,721 yards, 10 touchdowns and 5 interceptions across 10 games — production that landed him at our No. 189 overall and No. 38 among quarterbacks. Behind him and Mendoza sits Aidan O'Connell, who owns 17 starts over three years with the team, and undrafted Missouri State rookie Jacob Clark rounds out the room at QB4.

The Plan (Such As It Is)

Las Vegas is going old-school here. Rather than throw a highly drafted rookie into the fire early to speed up his development, the Raiders are content to let Cousins run the show and keep Mendoza on the sideline soaking it up. It's a conservative approach that runs counter to the modern trend of getting your young quarterback live snaps so the game slows down for him sooner.

None of this is a shock. A rookie behind an established veteran on a preliminary chart is about as predictable as it gets. The real surprise would be if Mendoza doesn't see the field at all before the 2026 season wraps up.

That's the tension baked into this whole setup. The chart says Cousins, but the roster logic says Mendoza. Teams don't invest in a quarterback of Mendoza's draft pedigree to leave him holding a clipboard for a full year — especially not a team facing the questions Las Vegas is facing.

Can This Offense Actually Move?

The bigger issue hanging over Vegas is talent, or the lack of it, in a brutally top-heavy AFC West. On paper the Raiders don't stack up with the division's best, and that's the kind of environment where a struggling veteran gets a short leash fast. If the losses pile up, the pressure to see what the rookie can do only grows.

For Cousins specifically, there's a flicker of positive form worth noting: over his last five games in 2025 he averaged 3.1 fantasy points above his season mark. That's the good news. The bad news is his ceiling in this offense looks capped, and his job security is entirely tied to wins the roster may not deliver.

The Fantasy Fallout

Cousins is a stream-at-best QB2 for now, and even that comes with a warning label — he's a matchup play, not a set-and-forget starter. If your league is deep enough that he's rostered, keep him on the shortest of leashes. The moment the Raiders slide, his fantasy value evaporates alongside his snaps.

Mendoza is the name to file away. In one-QB redraft formats he's not worth a pick yet, but in deeper leagues, superflex, or dynasty setups he's a legitimate stash. The path to relevance is right there: a shaky veteran ahead of him, a tough division, and a franchise with every incentive to see the future sooner rather than later.

Bottom line — hold Cousins only if you need a cheap bye-week filler, and watch Mendoza closely. The QB2 label is temporary. When the switch flips, you'll want to have grabbed him before your league mates do.