Rookie Minicamp Kickstarts Raiders Going All In on Mendoza

The Las Vegas Raiders' plans to take a tangible step forward this offseason entered the next phase with the start of their rookie mini-camp. Las Vegas recently drafted 10 players they believe will help improve the roster in various ways. No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza spearheads the group.

Watch Mendoza Discuss His First Practices as a Rookie Below

Raiders' Look Ahead

Las Vegas' front office has made it very clear that they would prefer not to have Mendoza start the season as the team's starting quarterback. They added veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins in the days leading up to the draft, with the intention that he lead the way while Mendoza develops.

There is no set timetable for when Mendoza will start for the Raiders. It is questionable whether there is a set time or if Las Vegas' front office will see how the season starts and go from there. Still, after years of disappointment, Mendoza taking the field for the rookie minicamp was a sight to behold.

Mendoza is the future, which is enough for the Raiders heading into the season. For the first time in a long time, the Raiders have a legitimate answer at quarterback waiting to take over at one point or another. That is all they need in the second year under John Spytek and the first under Klint Kubiak.

Las Vegas heads into the season with few expectations other than to look better than Pete Carroll's 3-14 team last season. Even four or five wins would be a successful season if it means properly developing the Raiders' starting quarterback for the next decade.

What Mendoza's Arrival Means

Mendoza's arrival is the next step in the process that will allow the Raiders to turn the page on the past few forgettable seasons. Las Vegas's rookie minicamp is another wave of talent being added to what the Raiders hope is a budding roster that will take shape over time.

Las Vegas added Kubiak earlier in the offseason, but his addition was always seen as the first major cog. Along with their many moves in free agency, the addition of Mendoza and the rest of the 2026 draft class was another major cog for Las Vegas. It has been an offseason filled with changes.

The Raiders will continue to bring the rookies along at their respective paces together, for now. Soon, they will add the veterans to practice, turning things up yet another notch. Then, things will become even clearer for Kubiak, Mendoza, and the Raiders ahead of the 2026 regular season.

What is already clear is that Mendoza is the Raiders' future. In the rookie minicamp, Mendoza seemed to be ahead of schedule. However, that was in a padded practice against fellow rookies, from which very little can be inferred regarding what those rookies will develop into.

Las Vegas' rebuild will take time. It will take the Raiders multiple regular seasons and offseasons to fully transition from the losing franchise they have been for much of the past decade into a competitor. However, every step Mendoza takes, even at the rookie minicamp, is technically historical.

Mendoza represents only the second No. 1 overall pick the Raiders, who were founded in 1960, have had in their long, storied history. There is no amount of words that can express how much the Raiders' front office is banking on his success. The other moves they have made confirm as much.

Las Vegas is doing the right thing by refusing to rush Mendoza onto the field, with a largely new roster and coaching staff still in the early stages of figuring things out. Yet, the importance of each step Mendoza takes cannot be overstated.

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