The Las Vegas Raiders’ projected 53-man roster has Kirk Cousins starting at quarterback in Week 1, with Fernando Mendoza and Aiden O’Connell behind him. That leaves Jacob Clark out of the quarterback room and sets one of the clearest position orders of training camp.
That is why the Raiders Roster is drawing attention now. The team is halfway through training camp, still working through the next two preseason games, and the depth chart is starting to harden before decisions get real. With the roster projection based on what has been seen in camp, the quarterback picture is the easiest place to see how the rest of the roster may settle.
Cousins is not the only name locked into a role. Ashton Jeanty is projected to start at running back, with Mike Washington Jr. and Dare Ogunbowale behind him, while Dylan Laube and Roman Hemby are projected out. At wide receiver, Jalen Nailor, Tre Tucker and Jack Bech are projected as the starters, and Malik Benson, a sixth-round rookie, is being treated as a lock after showing up as one of the best players on offense at camp and stacking big play after big play.
The rest of the projected offense follows the same outline. Brock Bowers is the tight end starter, with Michael Mayer, Connor Heyward and Ian Thomas as backups. Kolton Miller is at left tackle, Spencer Burford is set as a left-side guard starter, Jackson Powers-Johnson is projected as a guard starter, Tyler Linderbaum is at center and DJ Glaze is at right tackle. Charles Grant, Caleb Rogers and Trey Zuhn are listed as offensive line backups.
The one quarterback wrinkle that matters most is O’Connell. He is not projected to start, but the roster projection keeps him because he would be one of the first players claimed if waivers hit. That makes him too useful to expose, even with Mendoza in the room and Cousins at the top. Clark, by contrast, is the odd man out in a room that is being trimmed toward the final 53-man roster.
Defensively, the Raiders are also reshaping themselves for a 3-4 system. Adam Butler, Tonka Hemingway and Jonah Laulu are projected as the defensive line starters, with Foly Fatukasi brought in recently to help beef up the interior. Kwity Paye and Maxx Crosby are the projected starting outside linebackers, with Malcolm Koonce, Cian Slone and Keyron Crawford listed as the backups.
The broader read is straightforward: this looks like a better Raiders team than the one seen at this point last year, but the final edges are still moving. The next two preseason games should tell the clearest story on the last receiver spot and whether the projected quarterback order holds, with Cousins in front, Mendoza developing behind him and O’Connell hanging on because losing him would cost too much.
