Back in February, Raiders general manager John Spytek made clear that even if Las Vegas were to draft Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 pick of the 2026 NFL draft, the Indiana quarterback might not start right away.
"You want to limit the amount of pressure you have on that guy at the start. If you have a young quarterback, I’m not necessarily in favor of running him out there right away either,” Spytek said at the scouting combine, sharing his take on what is a common debate around the league (i.e., whether it benefits a rookie QB more to sit for a year or jump into play right away).
