The Las Vegas Raiders currently have 91 players on their offseason roster. When the Arizona Cardinals come to town for the preseason opener on Thursday evening, 50 of those players will be making their debuts with the Silver and Black. That is a lot of brand-new faces.
Massive turnover is expected when a new coaching staff comes in, but not this much. To further the enthusiasm, the Raiders have 56 players with two or fewer seasons accrued, including 28 rookies. This is a young roster with a lot to be fired up about, so Las Vegas fans should be in for a treat.
But in an attempt to narrow the scope, we have come up with a list of five players that the fanbase should be most excited to watch during the first exhibition contest. Each of them garnered some praise at training camp and will need to show that they can bring it in a game setting as well.
5 Raiders that the fanbase should be most excited to watch vs. Cardinals
Fernando Mendoza, QB
Duh.
The much-anticipated debut of Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 overall pick, will be must-see TV. The young signal-caller has played well enough at camp that Raider Nation is optimistic about his chances of turning in a good performance and pushing Kirk Cousins in this quarterback battle.
With an exceptionally strong showing, Mendoza could put a lot of pressure on Cousins and the staff to give him more reps with the first-team offense ahead of joint practices with the Houston Texans next week, which would be an incredible barometer. But it all starts on Thursday against Arizona.
Zeke Masses, CB
Masses has exploded onto the scene this offseason after being selected in Round 5 of the 2026 NFL Draft, and he may very well become a Week 1 starter for Rob Leonard's defense. He'll rotate in with the first-team defense on Thursday and will be looking to prove that he's not just a fun camp story.
At this point, it seems like Masses will be a part of the cornerback rotation no matter how things shake out. But fortunes change fast in the NFL, so the Cal product will still need to put great stuff on tape during his preseason debut. Maybe he'll make a splash play or two on the ball, as he's known for.
Malik Benson, WR
Benson has been talked about more than any of the Raiders' wide receivers during training camp, and they desperately need someone to step up at that spot. Perhaps it will be the unlikely sixth-rounder out of Oregon, who has quickly developed a nice rapport with Mendoza.
He doesn't necessarily need to be the biggest star in this matchup, but if Benson flashes a few times, as he reportedly has in practice, then suddenly, it won't be crazy to think about him as a legitimate piece of this offense so early in his career.
Tonka Hemingway, DT
If you watched the end of the 2025 NFL season, it was obvious that Hemingway was more special than the previous coaching staff gave him credit for. He made the most of his opportunities as a rookie, and he was doing the same thing all training camp with the top veteran group.
Now officially listed as a starter, Las Vegas fans are surely excited to watch Hemingway expand on the prowess that he displayed when he last took the field. With all the hype around him, expectations are high, and Hemingway should have no issues meeting them.
Jermod McCoy, CB
McCoy hasn't played a football game in over a year and a half. And as much as he has been waiting on this moment to return to the gridiron, Raider Nation also can't contain its excitement about watching the ultra-talented cornerback, who is apparently playing with no restrictions on Thursday.
To many, selecting McCoy even in Round 4 was a gamble, but to this organization and fanbase, it can be the steal of the draft. Although it will be difficult to judge him too harshly if he flounders after such a long stretch between outings, it will be that much more exciting if he shows some real promise.
Add us as a preferred source on Google