FlurrySports projects when Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza will start his first NFL game and what it means for fantasy football.
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With the first pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Las Vegas Raiders selected Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza as the new leader of the franchise. Before selecting Mendoza, though, the Raiders signed veteran Kirk Cousins to a five-year, $172M deal, which really operates as a one-year, $20M deal. While signing Cousins seems counterintuitive for the Raiders, it makes sense to have the rookie learn behind a veteran quarterback before passing the keys to the franchise over.
With Tom Brady in a minority-ownership role in Las Vegas, it makes sense that the team tries to recreate some of the magic that New England created when they drafted the Michigan alum. Looking through a real-life football perspective, the decision to draft Mendoza and wait before starting him appears to be the right one, but through a fantasy football perspective, especially dynasty fantasy football, it can be very frustrating waiting on someone that you spent premium draft capital on.
With the recent 2026 NFL schedule release, I am breaking down when we will most likely see Fernando Mendoza start his first game for the Las Vegas Raiders.
When Will Fernando Mendoza Start For the Las Vegas Raiders?
In a perfect world, the Las Vegas Raiders do not start Fernando Mendoza at all this season, as getting the full year to develop under Cousins is ideal. Realistically, that is not plausible. Given Cousins’ tenure in the league before this season, he is more than capable of handling the starting duties from day one of the season. With the Raiders not in a position to play winning football yet, putting Mendoza in before they absolutely have to is a recipe for failure. The only issue is that, given where Mendoza was selected and the position that he plays, if the Raiders do lose a few games in a row, the fanbase will get loud about wanting to see their new toy starting under center.
When bringing in a rookie quarterback to replace a seasoned veteran, most NFL teams want to do it during a home game. That means the Raiders’ options to start Mendoza are Weeks 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 14, 15 and 16. It feels like anything before Week 10, barring injury, is too early, so I am looking at the Week 14 game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
From Weeks 9 through 13, the Raiders play San Francisco, Seattle, Denver and Cleveland before the team’s bye in Week 13. The only realistic win out of those games is against Cleveland, but if the Raiders do drop that game, that really feels like it could be the last straw for Cousins, giving the Raiders an extra week, with the bye, to prepare Mendoza for his first start in Week 14.
Fernando Mendoza Fantasy Football Value 2026
Of course, Fernando Mendoza fantasy football owners will want to know what kind of value to expect this upcoming season. Given that he probably won’t start for the majority of the season, there is not really a reason why you need to be targeting Mendoza in redraft fantasy leagues, unless you are in a really deep league. Even in a two-quarterback league, there are at least 24 quarterbacks who hold more value with Mendoza not playing a majority of the season.
Limited bench spots hold way too much value to stash a player who won’t play until the fantasy playoffs. Instead, you will need to monitor him on the waiver wire. If the Chargers are in fact the start day, if you can afford to pick Mendoza up around that Week 9 to 11 area, that is the way to make sure that you get him on your time before he starts.
In dynasty fantasy football leagues, it is a little bit of a different story. Mendoza’s ADP in dynasty rookie drafts is sitting around 1.09. That means that if you have a first-round pick and you want Mendoza, you more than likely can get him. But the question arises of whether you should. Given that Mendoza is likely not starting for the majority of the season, if he does at all, does it make more sense to spend that first-round pick on a player who has more impact right away? Then, take Ty Simpson, who probably won’t start until next season and will be in a better situation next season than Mendoza.
Or, even wait another round and draft Carson Beck, who may start Week 1 for the Cardinals? This is where you have to weigh your needs versus the value that you put on these players. Either way, if you draft Mendoza early in your dynasty rookie draft, it appears that he will be headed to your taxi squad, and if Week 14 is in fact that time that he starts, it might not make any sense at all to take him out of that spot at all during the season.
