Fantasy Football Depth Chart Debate: Fernando Mendoza vs. Kirk Cousins

Going over who has more fantasy football value in the 2026 NFL season between Las Vegas Raiders QBs Fernando Mendoza and Kirk Cousins.

May 2, 2026; Henderson, NV, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) runs through a drill during a Rookie Minicamp at Intermountain Health Performance Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Las Vegas Raiders will have both a proven veteran and high-ceiling rookie in their QB room in 2026. Kirk Cousins, as the proven vet, will likely be the team’s starting signal-caller for Week 1. At the same time, rookie #1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, Fernando Mendoza, will learn from him on the sidelines, with a possibility for him to take that starting spot as soon as this season. With that, here is a breakdown of who holds more value in fantasy football in the 2026 NFL season, between Cousins and Mendoza.

Fernando Mendoza

Jun 3, 2026; Henderson, NV, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) warms up during organized team activities at Intermountain Health Performance Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Unlike 2025 #1 overall pick Cam Ward, Mendoza will again likely be his team’s QB2 to start his rookie season. While that does make him unplayable in fantasy football, for now, it is a good move by the Raiders.

Las Vegas does not have the best offensive weapons for Mendoza at the moment. Sure, he has Brock Bowers and second-year RB Ahston Jeanty, but outside of them, their WR room should rank among the five worst for the position group when this season is all said and done–their WR1 is Tre Tucker. They also had severe offensive line struggles in 2025. While they did address that some in the offseason, most notably with the signing of one of the best centers in the NFL, Tyler Linderbaum, there is still more work to do on that front. Having a subpar offensive line with a young QB can play a huge part in derailing his development path.

There is also proof in not starting a first-round QB right away. Some of the biggest examples of first-round signal-callers who followed Mendoza’s path and became great QBs are Philip Rivers, Aaron Rodgers, and Patrick Mahomes.

Mendoza, if he does get the call to be the Raiders starter at some point in 2026, should not be a fantasy waiver wire pickup unless he proves over a couple-game span that he is worth taking a chance on by having solid production.

Kirk Cousins

Jun 3, 2026; Henderson, NV, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) warms up during organized team activities at Intermountain Health Performance Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Cousins, even now in the later stages of his NFL career, has shown that he can still be a starter in the NFL. In 2025 for the Atlanta Falcons, he led them to four straight wins in their last four games of the season. He played fairly well during that stretch, with his biggest game coming against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Against Tampa, he threw for 373 passing yards and three TDs.

 Cousins, even as the Raiders' likely starter, should not be taken in fantasy drafts in 2026. Although he has displayed that he can still be capable of putting up top-five QB performances in fantasy on occasion, he is not set up as well with Las Vegas as he was with Atlanta to do so. Cousins should strictly be seen as a possible QB streaming option with his matchup on the week playing heavily into the decision of picking him or not.

Final Verdict

When it comes to who has more fantasy value for the 2026 NFL season between Cousins and Mendoza, Cousins does. Both should not be drafted in fantasy, but Cousins holds more value, as he has the slightly better chance of being a QB streamer option this season