The Las Vegas Raiders open their 2026 preseason Thursday at home against the Arizona Cardinals, and all eyes will be on one name: Fernando Mendoza. The No. 1 overall pick out of Indiana is about to take his first NFL snaps in a real game, and according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, kickoff at Allegiant Stadium is set for 5 p.m. local time.
Kirk Cousins will start under center for Las Vegas. That’s not a surprise — the Raiders signed the veteran in free agency specifically to bridge the gap while Mendoza develops. But head coach Klint Kubiak, in his own coaching debut, has made clear Mendoza won’t just stand on the sideline holding a clipboard.
“We do have a plan for those guys and how many snaps or series we’d like to see them go,” Kubiak told reporters ahead of Tuesday’s practice.
What Dan Orlovsky Wants to See
Former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky broke down what he’s watching for from Mendoza during a recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. His focus wasn’t on box-score numbers. It was on rhythm.
“I want to see Fernando Mendoza play with ease tonight. Ease in and out of the huddle and at the line of scrimmage. Ease handling the formations and the motions and the shifts,” Orlovsky said, per Pat McAfee on X (unconfirmed link — could not independently verify the post URL).
Orlovsky also pointed to something harder to coach than mechanics: composure. He wants to see whether Mendoza speeds up and unravels when something goes wrong, or whether he plays through adversity the way he did at Indiana, where he won the Heisman Trophy and led the Hoosiers to a Rose Bowl win over Alabama in the College Football Playoff.
Camp Reports Have Been a Mixed Bag
Mendoza’s transition to the pros hasn’t been seamless. ESPN’s Ryan McFadden reported the rookie has shown a good grasp of Kubiak’s offense and flashed accuracy, but has also had, in his words, his “fair share of struggles” — including off-target throws and issues getting the offense properly lined up, according to Yahoo Sports.
Part of that is structural. Mendoza rarely took snaps under center in college, running mostly out of the shotgun at Indiana. Learning that footwork and rhythm from scratch, on an NFL practice field, in real time, is exactly the kind of adjustment preseason games are built to expose — for better or worse.
Kubiak has downplayed the rough patches as part of the process. “There will never be a perfect game or a perfect practice,” he said earlier in camp, per Yahoo Sports.
The Matchup: Two Rookie Quarterbacks Under the Microscope
Mendoza won’t be the only first-year passer drawing attention Thursday. Arizona’s Carson Beck, a third-round pick, turned heads with a strong half in the Hall of Fame Game, and the hype around him has grown since. If Mendoza performs anywhere near that level against Beck’s Cardinals, it could shift the national conversation quickly.
| Player | Team | Draft Status | College |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fernando Mendoza | Raiders | No. 1 overall pick, 2026 | Indiana |
| Carson Beck | Cardinals | Third-round pick, 2026 | Georgia/Miami |
Why This Game Matters — And Why It Doesn’t
Preseason performances rarely predict regular-season success. Vanilla schemes, backup-heavy defenses, and small sample sizes make it a shaky evaluation tool. But for a No. 1 overall pick who’s going to sit behind Cousins to start the year, Thursday is one of the few live look Raiders fans will get before the regular season kicks off September 13.
Las Vegas didn’t draft Mendoza to sit forever. Cousins gives the franchise a stable bridge and, by all accounts, a mentor willing to help Mendoza learn the pace of the NFL game. How Mendoza looks Thursday — rushed or composed, sharp or scattered — will shape how loud that conversation gets over the next few weeks.
