A 3-0 start for the Las Vegas Raiders now seems like a distant memory after they extended their losing streak to four games with a 35-21 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 7. The No. 1 topic of conversation in the aftermath of that loss is the quarterback situation, as it should be.
It feels like it's time for Kirk Cousins to cede the starting job to Fernando Mendoza. After the game, head coach Klint Kubiak said that everything will be looked at, and Cousins himself acknowledged that he could be benched. But Kubiak said on Monday that it'll still be Cousins in Week 8.
It can be strongly argued, though, that even with Mendoza largely sight unseen thus far in the regular season, that Cousins is no longer the best option for the Raiders under center. At 3-4, playoff contention is still in play, but after Week 8 against the New York Jets, the schedule stiffens again.
So, the future should be now for the Raiders. And if they took the plunge, some folks in the building who need a boost may be fully unlocked by the switch from the veteran signal-caller to the rookie No. 1 pick.
5 Raiders in need of a boost who could be unlocked by Fernando Mendoza
5. Malik Benson, WR
Benson has been a non-entity in the Raiders' wide receiver corps so far, with 2 catches on 9 targets. 4 of those targets and 1 of those catches came in a blowout loss to the New England Patriots, with 3 targets and the catch on the final offensive plays of the game with Mendoza under center.
Mendoza and Benson, as could be expected of fellow rookies seeing action together, showed solid rapport during the preseason. If a shift in quarterback is coming, with eyes on the future, seeing if that rapport has any legs beyond this season would be an order of business to attend to.
4. The Offensive Line
To put it simply, the book is out on Cousins.
He is a sitting duck in the pocket at 38 years old, and he doesn't have the arm strength to beat blitzing defenses downfield. The offensive line is struggling to keep him protected adequately, and his lack of downfield arm strength leads to a heavy dose of stacked boxes for the run game to navigate.
Mendoza is no Josh Allen, but he is functionally mobile in a way Cousins just can't be anymore. And it wouldn't take much for the rookie to provide a more viable threat as a downfield passer to take defenses out of heavy fronts. All of it would help a struggling offensive line get it together.
3. Jalen Nailor, WR
The Raiders are obviously not getting much bang for the buck with Nailor so far. He does have 9 targets over the last two games since coming back from a concussion, but that uptick (slight as it has been) has only yielded 3 catches for 33 yards.
Cousins missed a couple of opportunities to connect with Nailor against the Rams, either via a misfire he lamented or a throw he didn't see/knew he couldn't make on the move. The latter case would not likely be an issue for Mendoza, who has shown a willingness to let it rip when we've seen him play.
2. Ashton Jeanty, RB
Jeanty is clearly not operating at full strength right now, as he deals with ankle and foot injuries. But in a repeat of his rookie season, it has also been difficult for him to find sufficient room to run on a far-too-regular basis.
He is making an impact as a pass catcher to provide value to the Raiders' offense, and that shouldn't go away when it comes time for Mendoza to start. But a quarterback who can loosen defenses from stacked boxes can only help Jeanty be a more effective runner, even if he is banged up.
1. Klint Kubiak
Based on their three seasons together in Minnesota, when Kubiak was the quarterbacks coach and the offensive coordinator, the driving force for bringing Cousins to Las Vegas was the Raiders' head coach. Cousins clearly knew what he was getting into with the Mendoza of it all.
It's also safe to say that the current version of Cousins is different than the one Kubiak worked with previously. Not that the veteran signal-caller was ever all that fleet of foot, but a 2023 Achilles' tear and simply being older have eroded whatever mobility he had.
As ESPN's Bill Barnwell noted after the loss to the Rams, some elements of Kubiak's offense have been limited by Cousins being the quarterback. A drop in play-action rate compared to Kubiak's Seattle Seahawks' offense last season can be blamed on the struggles of the run game.
But putting the quarterback on the move by design, which has been a core part of the offense that Kubiak has roots in going back a long time, has been basically eliminated from the playbook.
"(Sam) Darnold (and just about every other quarterback running this offense) was particularly successful on the naked bootleg game that Shanahan disciples install as the obvious play-fake off their outside zone offense", Barnwell wrote. "Those are throws the 38-year-old Cousins really isn't asked to make very often because of his lack of mobility. But when he throws from outside the pocket with play-action this season, he has gone 10-of-10 for 115 yards with a touchdown and a league-best 98.2 Total QBR. That pocket movement also takes pressure off the offensive line by creating uncertainty for opposing pass rushers."
Among other things, off of play-action or otherwise, Mendoza can bring the designed quarterback movement element back to Kubiak's offense. That stresses pass rushers, and coverage has to hold up longer than it has to with a pocket-bound passer.
Mendoza starting, whenever it happens, should help Kubiak dust off parts of his play-call sheet he hasn't been able to use with Cousins. With that, everything else (more production from non-Tre Tucker wide receivers, better offensive line play, more juice in the run game) can fall in line.
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