Week 1 opens with zero rookie quarterbacks slated to start under center, and that includes Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. The Las Vegas Raiders are expected to keep him on the sideline to start the 2026 campaign, with his first start projected for Week 8, 2026 at the Jets.
That makes this opening week unusual for the NFL. It is only the second time in the past 19 seasons that no rookie quarterback is set to start to open the year, with the previous case coming in 2022. Mendoza is also the first No. 1 overall pick not to start since Baker Mayfield in 2018, and only the third since 2008, joining Jared Goff.
The broader picture is just as striking. Every drafted quarterback made his team’s initial 53-man roster, and two undrafted free agents, Jalon Daniels and Joe Fagnano, also survived roster cuts. Daniels even won the backup job behind Baker Mayfield in Tampa Bay, while Mendoza’s path stayed more cautious despite his draft status.
The reason is on tape. Mendoza logged 85 preseason plays and finished 25 of 45 passing for a 55.6 percent completion rate, 240 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He averaged 5.3 yards per attempt, had a long completion of 22 yards and was sacked four times. Several of his miscues came on under-center play-action calls, a reminder that the arm talent was visible but the operation still needed work.
That is where the Raiders’ schedule matters. Their stretch from Week 4 through Week 7 runs through Kansas City, at New England, against Buffalo and against the Los Angeles Rams, a rough four-game block that makes patience easier to justify. If the plan holds, Mendoza will spend the early season learning behind the scenes before getting live reps in Week 8, but the calendar can still shift if results force the issue sooner.
For now, the league is opening without a rookie quarterback starter, and Mendoza’s debut sits behind one of the season’s toughest early stretches. The next real marker is not whether he made the roster; it is whether the Raiders can keep their No. 1 pick on the sideline long enough to reach Week 8.
