Raiders plan to give top pick Fernando Mendoza ‘plenty of experience’ in Thursday’s preseason opener

The Las Vegas Raiders don’t want to start Fernando Mendoza to begin the regular season. But curious fans should get a long look at him in the preseason.

Raiders coach Klint Kubiak confirmed that Mendoza will play in Thursday’s preseason opener at home against the Arizona Cardinals. The first overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft will get “plenty of experience in the game,” though Kubiak didn’t specify how much Mendoza will play, via the team’s site.

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“Look forward to seeing him out there with his teammates,” Kubiak said, according to Raiders.com. “Lot of guys that we need to evaluate but he’ll get plenty of reps.”

Considering the Raiders’ plan to have Kirk Cousins begin the season as their starter, Mendoza might be the top must-watch player this preseason.

Fernando Mendoza to take 1st NFL snaps

Kubiak said the starters will play Thursday, which presumably means that Cousins will get a series or two. Then Mendoza should enter, though Kubiak isn’t sharing his plan. Aidan O’Connell is still on the Raiders’ roster and should play too.

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It’s not out of the question Mendoza could play so well in preseason that he wins the starting job for Week 1 — recent history has a examples of teams wanting to go with a veteran QB to start the season only to change their minds quickly due to the presence of a highly drafted rookie — but most likely Mendoza is auditioning for his shot to come sooner rather than later.

A strong preseason from Mendoza, who has plenty of experience after leading Indiana to a national title, could increase the pressure on the organization to turn to Mendoza early in the season. Cousins is a solid veteran and could keep Mendoza on the bench for a long time if he plays well, but the urge to find out what the future of the franchise can do is always strong.

We’ve seen the rhetoric surrounding Arizona Cardinals’ rookie Carson Beck ramp up after one good half in the Hall of Fame Game. Coincidentally, Beck should see more time on Thursday against Mendoza’s Raiders.

Beck is just a third-round pick. If the top overall pick plays as well as Beck did last week, the hype will blow away what we’ve heard about Beck the past week.

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Mendoza has some struggles in camp

Reports on Mendoza’s camp have been mixed. ESPN’s Ryan McFadden wrote that Mendoza has a good grasp of the offense and has shown good accuracy, but he has also had his “fair share of struggles” including some off-target throws, getting the offense lined up properly and handling snaps. He is still adjusting to taking snaps under center, something he rarely did in college. And he’s a rookie; some issues are to be expected.

“There will never be a perfect game or a perfect practice,” Kubiak said early in camp. “I think he’s doing a good job. I don’t expect him to be perfect right now.”

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There will be issues in Thursday’s preseason game. It will be Mendoza’s first time on an NFL field for game action. What matters more is if Mendoza flashes the upside that the Raiders fell in love with when they decided to take a shot on him as their future franchise quarterback.

There will be plenty to watch over the preseason as it gets fully going this week. Mendoza’s progress might be No. 1 on that list.