Las Vegas Raiders AFC West

The report notes that Cousins took all of the first-team reps Wednesday and was followed by O'Connell and Mendoza, in that order. At this stage, the Raiders have yet to outline plans on when a starter will be named, with GM John Spytek having said, "The best guy will play." That said, with both Spytek and coach Klint Kubiak having previously expressed their inclination to not play a young quarterback right away, Warren and Ryan McFadden of ESPN.com suggest that Cousins is trending toward starting Week 1, citing the veteran signal-caller's ample professional experience, as well as his familiarity with Kubiak's offense. While the Raiders are intentionally easing Mendoza -- the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft -- into the mix, Kubiak has nonetheless been pleased with what he's seen from the highly-touted the rookie so far. "He's as advertised," Kubiak said Wednesday. "He has not disappointed." Given where Mendoza was drafted, it's assumed that the Indiana product will rise to the top of the Raiders' depth chart eventually, but he could begin his pro career, for a time, as Cousins' understudy. However, there's still runway for Mendoza to change the narrative on that front in the coming months, with Kubiak noting Wednesday of the team's QB pecking order, "It's gonna reveal itself, especially in training camp."

Per the report, Cousins was followed by Aidan O'Connell and then No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza, whom the Raiders continue to ease into their offense. While coach Klint Kubiak has yet to provide a timeline for when he'd like to name a starting QB, McFadden suggests that Cousins is the favorite to open the season as the team's No. 1 option, given his ample NFL experience and familiarity with Kubiak's offense. That said, Mendoza -- who has been "as advertised," per Kubiak -- does have time to change that narrative ahead of Week 1, and even if Cousins does handle signal-caller duties for Las Vegas out of the gate in 2026, there's little doubt that Mendoza will rise to the top of the depth chart eventually, given where he was drafted.

Chinn spent the final two weeks of Las Vegas' 2025 campaign on IR with a back injury, but it appears he's moved past the issue. The Southern Illinois product is entering the final year of his contract after posting 114 total tackles, including 1.0 sacks, two passes defensed and two forced fumbles across 15 games last season. He's expected to remain a crucial part of the Raiders' defense during 2026.

Jones appeared in 14 games with Miami in 2025, but he was shut down ahead of Week 17 with a back injury. Now, he's evidently in good shape for football activities again and is getting a shot with a new team. Las Vegas recently lost defensive tackle Leki Fotu to the Giants in free agency, and it's reasonable to suspect Jones could fill a similar role to the one Fotu left behind with the Raiders.

The Las Vegas native from Bishop Gorman High School spent time with New Mexico State, Cal and Indiana in the college ranks, winning a national title with the Hoosiers in 2025. With Indiana, he served primarily as a punt-return specialist, averaging 16.5 yards across 21 returns, the sixth-best mark in the FBS. Now, he'll try to carve out a role with the Raiders as well.

Clark began his collegiate career with Minnesota before transferring to Missouri State. During his senior year, he completed 65.7 percent of his passes for 3,244 yards and a 28:11 TD:INT. Clark has a quick release but doesn't have a particularly strong arm. Las Vegas drafted Fernando Mendoza first overall and also signed veteran Kirk Cousins in early April, so Clark figures to develop on the practice squad if he sticks with the organization.

Williams played his first three collegiate campaigns with Clemson before transferring to Indiana. In his final year of eligibility, he recorded 36 catches for 438 yards and six touchdowns over 15 games. Williams didn't have the most prolific college career and struggled to stay healthy at times, but he has good size at 6-foot-3 and could have a slight advantage over the Raiders' other rookie wideouts entering training camp because he played at Indiana with QB Fernando Mendoza, who Las Vegas drafted first overall in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Matsuzawa was born in Japan and began his football career at Hawaii. He converted 39 of his 45 field-goal attempts and all 72 of his extra-point tries during his two-year tenure with the Rainbow Warriors.

Benson was well-traveled during his college career, beginning with two seasons of community college before making one-year stops at Alabama, Florida State and Oregon to round out his career. Benson did, at least, save his best season for last in Eugene in 2025, racking up 43 catches for 719 yards and six touchdowns, all career-best marks. He's a bit slender at 6-foot, 189 pounds, but the 23-year-old wideout ran among the better 40 times for wideouts with a 4.37 mark. Benson claims solid range and ball skills but needs work on his route running and to add muscle. Benson has some history as a return man for the Ducks and will likely need to contribute on special teams in Las Vegas.

Zuhn (6-foot-7, 312 pounds) was a dominating presence as a four-year starter at Texas A&M, where he primarily lined up at LT before also beginning to mix in at center in 2025. It appears he will remain in the interior with Las Vegas. Zuhn earned first-team All-SEC honors in 2025 and has demonstrated valuable versatility, but there are reasons to be concerned that his less-than-ideal length (32.5-inch arms) will cause hurdles at the NFL level. The Raiders inked Tyler Linderbaum to a massive three-year deal in free agency, so Zuhn projects to compete with Will Putnam for a reserve role.

Cleveland was a distinguished two-gap tackle for North Carolina State, and one way or another he should prove a useful enough pick for the Raiders this late. The concern with Cleveland's NFL projection is that at 6-foot-3, 307 pounds, he doesn't have as much natural anchor as you'd like in a nose tackle, especially given Cleveland's lack of explosiveness otherwise. Cleveland has only one calling card -- eating interior blocks to crowd the ground game -- but it's not clear if his anchor will set well enough to play as well in the NFL as it did in college.

Masses played three seasons of his four-year college career at FIU before transferring to Cal as a senior, where he racked up 47 tackles (one for loss), 13 pass deflections and five interceptions. He clearly has skills playing the ball, but he has a slender frame at 6-foot-1, 179 pounds and likely needs to bulk up. As a result of the frame, he struggles to get off blocks at times and isn't the most consistent tackler. Moses is likely bound for a depth role in 2026 and will likely be expected to contribute on special teams as a rookie while he adds to his frame.