Is it OK for a rookie quarterback to start from Day 1? Or is it better for that QB to sit and learn behind a veteran before taking over as a starter?
That’s something the Raiders are likely contemplating as they prepare for the 2026 season.
Las Vegas is highly likely to select Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza at No. 1 overall in next month’s draft. With 35 collegiate starts under his belt, there’s reason to think that Mendoza could be QB1 from Day 1 at the highest level.
But Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak said at the annual league meeting on Tuesday that ideally, any rookie QB should have time to sit and learn.
“I think in a perfect world, he’s watching a mature adult go and run an offense and run the team,” Kubiak said. “But, the situation is, you might have that player, you might not have that veteran to show him the way. So he might come in and have to play immediately. But you’d rather him learn, learn before he gets in the game. You don’t always get to pick. It doesn’t work out the exact way you want it to. But at the end of the day, you want to make sure you’re bringing in an individual, drafting a guy that’s mature enough to handle some adversity — whether it’s him starting the first game or him starting the first game Year 2.
“Sometimes they have to play from Day 1,” Kubiak later added. “It’s our job as a coach to get them ready to go. I think it does help the player, though, if they can sit behind a mature adult and watch how they run the show.”
But right now, after trading Geno Smith to the Jets, the Raiders have just Aidan O’Connell on their roster at the position. While O’Connell has appeared in 21 games with 17 starts since the Raiders drafted him out of Purdue in 2023, he does not appear to fit the bill as the kind of ideal veteran for a quarterback like Mendoza to learn behind.
Kirk Cousins is on the market as a free agent, and he could be that kind of QB. But would Cousins sign up for being a bridge quarterback with Las Vegas after he unexpectedly had to do the same thing with the Falcons?
Either way, Kubiak knows it will mainly fall on the coaching staff to ensure whoever is starting at quarterback is ready to play.
“Obviously, you don’t get as much practice time as you used to get,” Kubiak said when asked about developing young QBs. “The OTAs are different than they were 15 years ago. There’s less time, and it feels like with every day that goes by, they’re trying to take even more from you there. So, development is tough. So you’ve got to be really intentional with your time.
“The most obvious thing is that the minute that guy gets on the field, all eyes are on them. And all the success that you hope for them to have, you put on the coaching staff, and you try to put them in a great position to be successful.”
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