Huddle Up: The No. 1 overall pick got his first taste of the NFL on Thursday, taking over after Kirk Cousins connected with Michael Mayer for a touchdown on the opening drive. Mendoza saw extended action, engineering one touchdown drive of his own that ended when he hit Jack Bech from six yards out. Mendoza should open the season behind Cousins before eventually taking the reins. For the time being, his value remains isolated to keeper leagues. Those in single-year formats can stick him on a watch list to monitor, but that should be the extent of it.

Huddle Up: Mendoza, the first overall pick in the 2026, will likely start Week 1 holding the clipboard for veteran QB Kirk Cousins, but should get plenty of reps during the preseason. It's likely Mendoza gets his first NFL start at some point in the middle of this season, so he's somebody to watch if he can lift up the Raiders immediately or if he's a work in progress. For fantasy this season, he's a high-end QB3 for multiple-QB leagues, and somebody to keep tabs on in free agency in your league for single-QB formats.

Huddle Up: It seems like Mendoza will start the season on the sidelines but there is a good chance he will take over the starting job at some point during the season. He will be a No. 2 fantasy quarterback in leagues if he takes over the starting job.

Huddle Up: Mendoza should get to start this season, whether it's in Week 1 or sometime during the season. Or whenever the Raiders are tired of Kirk Cousins. Anyway, Mendoza has Brock Bowers, Ashton Jeanty, and not much else, so it could be lean times in 2026 for Mendoza. However, he has the talent to lift all boats in Las Vegas, so tread lightly in seasonal formats unless he is wildly impressive in his initial starts.

Huddle Up: Cousins seems to have a good chance to start Week 1, but he will likely lose the job if the Raiders fall out of playoff contention or even earlier depending on his play. Mendoza will still likely start at some point this season, but neither quarterback is more than a No. 2 fantasy option at this point.

Huddle Up: With Kirk Cousins in town, Mendoza doesn't figure to be a starting option for the first four to six weeks. He'll be a low-end QB2 option in single-year leagues and an obvious asset in dynasty leagues.

Huddle Up: Mendoza should be the starting quarterback for the Raiders early on in the season if he does not start Week 1 and will likely have some struggles like most rookie quarterbacks. He can be a possible No. 2 fantasy quarterback but is unlikely to be a starting option most weeks.

Huddle Up: Take it with a grain of salt as Mendoza grew as a quarterback from his time at Cal. He'll need to continue to do that in the NFL - much like any quarterback that enters the league. Mendoza will be an upper-middle QB2 option in single-year fantasy leagues and a good dynasty chip to have.