Fernando Mendoza Takeover Is Imminent For The Las Vegas Raiders
Fantasy

Fernando Mendoza Takeover Is Imminent For The Las Vegas Raiders

Ian Hartitz examines the QB competition for the Las Vegas Raiders between Fernando Mendoza and Kirk Cousins, and when Mendoza can take over.

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The selection of Fernando Mendoza No. 1 overall by the Las Vegas Raiders was almost solidified when in January he made a gritty touchdown run that sealed the Indiana Hoosiers' magical unbeaten season for the National Championship. Now the question is, when will he take over the starting job with Kirk Cousins likely starting the season behind center in Las Vegas. Ian Hartitz breaks it down as part of the Las Vegas Raiders Team Preview.

How long will Fernando Mendoza spend on the bench?

Mendoza might be the Raiders' QB1 in fantasy land, but it sounds like the Raiders fully plan on having him hold a clipboard behind Kirk Cousins to start out the year:

  • Kubiak in March: "You’d love him to be able to learn behind somebody. That’s in a perfect world."
  • GM John Spytek in February: "I think you want to limit the amount of pressure you have on that guy from the start … Now, if you have a young quarterback, I'm not necessarily in favor of running him out there right away, either, so [you want] another quality player that can play the quarterback position."
  • ESPN's Adam Schefter: "I think they’re going to want Kirk Cousins to start the season … And if you’re going to want to turn to Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 overall pick, at some point in time, I don’t know if you’re going to want to do it in November when you have to go play four road games."

All this chatter has been more or less confirmed by the Raiders literally having Mendoza on an entirely different practice field as QB1 (Cousins) and even QB2 (O'Connell).

Regardless of when Mendoza actually takes over the starting job (my money would be on Week 6), history tells us we should see him sooner rather than later. Overall, 27 of 35 (77%) QBs selected inside the top-10 picks since 2010 started at least 10 games, and the median number of starts was 13. Throw in the reality that soon-to-be 38-year-old veteran Kirk Cousins looked like a shell of his former self in Atlanta post-Achilles tear, and it probably won't take more than a few losses for Raiders fans and the media alike to be heavily clamoring for the Mendoza era to officially begin.

Get your popcorn ready once we see Mendoza under center. There is plenty to like here—I highlighted the following attributes as his top-3 strengths in my pre-draft write-up on the National Champion:

1. Toughness: Both physically and mentally. Mendoza repeatedly proved willing to stand tall in the pocket and deliver ropes downfield even with a big hit coming. Ohio State and Miami, in particular, largely beat the crap out of this man early, but it never seemed to get to Mendoza. Throw in gritty game-winning touchdown drives against Iowa and Penn State, and it sure seems like Mendoza has whatever "it" is.

2. Checks every box physically: Even if there's not a single "elite" trait. Mendoza has the size to see over the line and hold up against NFL-level defenses. He has enough speed to hurt defenses as a scrambler—occasionally in spectacular fashion. There's also plenty of arm talent here—Mendoza hit some b-e-a-utiful deep posts during his time at Indiana, and his ability to constantly nail deep outs and comebacks to his receiver's chest bordered on automatic at times throughout the season.

3. Pinpoint accuracy: This would be Mendoza's "Superpower" if I had to pick. VERY accurate in the intermediate areas of the field, Mendoza made a habit of fitting passes between multiple defenders while still giving his receivers YAC opportunities. Still, nothing was more repeatedly impressive than his back-shoulder completions—there were times that a 25-yard shot down the sideline to Charlie Becker felt like a long handoff.

Get excited Raiders fans … but maybe not fantasy fans. This continues to look like one of the worst offensive environments on paper despite some of the offseason additions, and Mendoza, while plenty nimble, doesn't profile as the sort of high-volume rushing threat who usually goes hand-in-hand with rookie QBs putting up big numbers in fantasy land. Fire up the No. 1 overall pick as the 1.02 in superflex rookie drafts if you need a QB, but otherwise, we're not looking at anything more than a later-round superflex QB2 option in re-draft land.

Players Mentioned in this Article

  1. FernandoMendoza
    QBLVLV
    Proj
    178.7
  2. Kirk Cousins
    KirkCousins
    QBLVLV
    PPG
    10.5
    Proj
    69.9

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