Fernando Mendoza already made a jump from what he was doing at mandatory minicamp to the first day of training camp
The Las Vegas Raiders have to be loving how the first day of training camp went with Fernando Mendoza.
The Las Vegas Raiders kicked off training camp on Wednesday, and Day 1 already delivered notable developments at quarterback and cornerback.
Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, ran with the second-team offense for the first time after spending OTAs and mandatory minicamp primarily with the threes. Fifth-round rookie cornerback Hezekiah Masses also turned heads, starting with the first-team defense.
Mendoza’s promotion shouldn’t be overstated, but it shouldn’t be dismissed either. The Heisman winner and national champion quite literally said earlier this offseason that he has to work his way from the ground up, that nothing would be given to him despite his draft pedigree. Las Vegas took him at his word.
While quarterback Kirk Cousins took first-team reps as expected, and Aiden O’Connell shifted to the third team after primarily running with the twos throughout the spring, Mendoza earned what he said he would earn.
Mendoza had a steady first day
Multiple beat writers and reporters on site noted that Mendoza had a solid first day. Nothing stood out as spectacular or alarming. For a rookie quarterback stepping into his first NFL training camp, steady is a fine place to start. The Raiders are focused on getting him up to speed with the NFL lifestyle both on and off the field, and that process accelerated Wednesday.
Las Vegas coach Klint Kubiak told everyone beforehand that Cousins would start Day 1 of camp with the ones. He also made a pointed comment worth remembering: just because someone is the Day 1 starter doesn’t mean they’ll necessarily be the starter for Week 17. That remark felt aimed squarely at the quarterback position.
Cousins likely starts Week 1, but Mendoza’s time is coming
It feels like Cousins is the Week 1 starter. That hasn’t been set in stone or reported by anyone on the team, but the trajectory points there. It also feels like Mendoza is going to take over at some point, whether because Cousins gets hurt, the team hits a slump, or the coaching staff simply decides it’s time. You could make a bet that Mendoza ends up starting more games than Cousins does this season.
The Raiders have a strong quarterback room when you consider the full picture. Cousins is a veteran who still has some juice left. Mendoza is the franchise’s future. O’Connell has started 17 games in his career and has shown some good football at times. That combination gives Kubiak legitimate options at every stage of the season.
Massis with the 1s is worth monitoring
The Masses development is not a complete shock. He rotated snaps with cornerback Darien Porter alongside the starters during mandatory minicamp. Still, a fifth-round rookie opening camp with first-team reps carries weight. It signals the coaching staff’s confidence in what they’ve seen from him so far, and it puts pressure on the veterans behind him.
Kubiak will continue to ramp up the intensity as camp progresses, and Mendoza will face his first real stretches of adversity. There will be bad moments. He’s a rookie. There will also be good ones. The key is staying present for all of them and remembering this is still training camp. But for the first time in a while, it feels like Las Vegas is headed in the right direction.