There was little surprise Sept. 2, when Las Vegas Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak announced he (with an assist from Tom Brady, which is a topic and a debacle for another time) decided to name veteran Kirk Cousins the team's starting quarterback for the season opener against the Miami Dolphins Sept. 13.
Kubiak telegraphed the Raiders' intentions in late March, when it was clear the Raiders would select Fernando Mendoza, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner from Indiana, with the no. 1 overall pick.
"Ideally, you don't want him to start from Day 1," Kubiak said . "You'd love him to be able to learn behind somebody. That's in a perfect world."
These are the Raiders we're talking about, so forget about any perfect world scenarios. Still, going with the 38-year-old Cousins — who signed a one-year deal in April — instead of throwing Mendoza straight to the wolves makes sense, even if Mendoza is the first quarterback selected no. 1 overall to open the season on the bench in nearly a decade.
Baker Mayfield didn't start the first three weeks of the 2018 season as the Cleveland Browns went a respectable 1-1-1 in games started by Tyrod Taylor.
Mayfield was the unofficial winning pitcher, so to speak, in week three, when he inherited a two-touchdown deficit when he relieved Taylor just before halftime, then directed the Browns to a 21-17 victory on Sept. 20 (a Thursday night game).
Each of the next six quarterbacks selected no. 1 overall started in week one of their rookie seasons, suggesting the Raiders' decision breaks recent tradition:
Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals, 2019
Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals, 2020
Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars, 2021
Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers, 2023
Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears, 2024
Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans, 2025
As you may have deduced, the only season since 2019 in which a quarterback was not selected first overall was 2022, when the Jaguars made defensive end Travon Walker the top pick. The only quarterback picked in the first round was Kenny Pickett, who was selected 20th by the Pittsburgh Steelers and is already on his third team.
The only other quarterback selected within the top three rounds was Desmond Ridder, whom the Atlanta Falcons selected 74th overall. Ridder hasn't taken an NFL snap since Jan, 5, 2025, when he was playing with the Raiders.
All of this is to say that these days, there's a really good reason if a quarterback doesn't go no. 1 overall.
Mendoza (say it like McBain in The Simpsons ) will be the eighth quarterback selected with the top pick to open his rookie season on the bench since 2000.
Michael Vick, Atlanta Falcons, 2001: Made his first start in the Falcons' eighth game.
Carson Palmer, Cincinnati Bengals, 2003: Spent his entire rookie season behind Jon Kitna and didn't make his first start until the Bengals' 2004 season opener.
Eli Manning, New York Giants, 2004: Made his first start in the Giants' 10th game.
Alex Smith, San Francisco 49ers, 2005: Made his first start in the 49ers' fifth game.
JaMarcus Russell, Oakland Raiders, 2007: Made his first start in the Raiders' 16th and final game.
Jared Goff, St. Louis Rams, 2016: Made his first start in the Rams' 10th game.
Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns, 2018: Made his first start in the Browns' fourth game.
The track record for top draft picks biding their time on the bench is mixed — just as it is for the quarterbacks starting from day one.
The only Super Bowl winner amongst this group is Manning, who was 117-117 as a starter but will likely make the Hall of Fame for his iconic performances in the Giants' title game wins over the New England Patriots.
Related: Eli Manning's Football Hall of Fame Case
Goff got the relocated Rams to the Super Bowl following the 2018 season, where they fell to the Patriots 13-3 in the biggest Super Bowl snoozefest ever played , before authoring an impressive second act with the revitalized Detroit Lions.
Mayfield, like Goff, is 31 years old. But Goff is in a much better situation to add to his resume and perhaps make the Super Bowl than Mayfield, who is already playing for his fourth team and is entering the final season of his contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their poisonous vibes.
Vick looked like he might be on a Hall of Fame trajectory when he steered the Falcons to the NFC Championship Game as a 24-year-old in 2004 and served as the face of the mobile quarterback revolution. But a two-season suspension for his role as the architect of a dogfighting ring ended those chances, though he did come back to make 47 starts for the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers from 2009 through 2015.
More NFL:
Smith ended up with one of the most unique careers of his generation, if not all-time. He was just 19-31 as a starter in his first six seasons — one of which he missed entirely due to a shoulder injury — before going 13-3 and leading the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game in 2011, when they fell to Manning and the Giants in overtime.
The 49ers got off to a 6-2-1 start in 2012, but Smith suffered a concussion during a 24-24 tie with the St. Louis Rams and never go this job back as Colin Kaepernick sparked a run to Super Bowl 47, where San Francisco lost to the Baltimore Ravens 34-31. Smith was dealt to the Kansas City Chiefs, whom he directed to the playoffs four times in five years before giving way to Patrick Mahomes, who has worked out reasonably well.
Smith then landed with Washington, which opened 6-3 with Smith at the helm before he suffered a terrifying broken right leg on Nov. 18, 2018. Smith needed 17 surgeries and endured a life-threatening bout with sepsis yet came back to start eight more games in 2020 before retiring.
The two no. 1 picks this century to wait the longest to start a game had entirely different careers.
Palmer led the Bengals to a pair of playoff berths in 2005 and 2009 — as many trips to the postseason as they made from 1983 through 2004 — before threatening to retire after a falling out with the organization following the 2011 season.
He was dealt to the Raiders and played two seasons in Oakland before authoring an impressive late-career act with the Arizona Cardinals, whom he helped to the NFC Championship Game in 2015. When he retired following the 2017 season , Palmer ranked amongst the top 15 all-time in passing yards, touchdown passes, completions and attempts despite sitting his rookie season and suffering two serious knee injuries.
Russell, the previous quarterback picked first overall by the Raiders went down as one of the biggest busts of all-time after going 7-18 over three seasons with Oakland. He was cut at age 24 in May 2010 and never played another down in the NFL.
Mendoza almost surely won't have to wait as long as Russell — and will almost surely fare much better for the Raiders, though that's not saying much.
The open date is usually a good spot to make a big lineup change, but the Raiders' open date doesn't arrive until week 13 (Dec. 3-7), which is awfully late to make the switch for a team unlikely to contend.
The average first start for Vick, Palmer, Manning, Smith, Russell, Goff and Mayfield was their team's 10th game, which seems like a decent spot on the calendar. Las Vegas will surely establish itself as a non-contender by then, but Mendoza will still have enough time to build a resume and some momentum for 2027.
Related: Raiders Should Sign 9-Year Veteran RB Amid Ashton Jeanty's Injury News
Alas, the Raiders' 10th game this season is against the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks on Nov. 15. And that clash is bookended by games against the San Francisco 49ers and the Denver Broncos, each of whom made the playoffs last season. Not exactly a smooth runway for a rookie quarterback.
The runway for Mendoza looks like it might be a week 8 game against the New York Jets. It's a road tilt and playing at 1 PM EST is never an easy task for west coast teams.
But opposing the forever woebegone Jets in front of an indifferent crowd at MetLife Stadium is as friendly a spot as a team is ever going to find for a rookie quarterback making his first start — especially since the Raiders' previous four games are against the Chiefs, New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills and Rams. Cousins will earn his keep against that gauntlet before handing off the baton to Mendoza.
Related: Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet 2026: Top 300 Draft Player Rankings
This story was originally published by Lindys Sports on Sep 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add Lindys Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
