Fernando Mendoza showed flashes but still has work to do. Here’s what stood out, what surprised us and what raised questions in the Las Vegas Raiders‘ preseason opener.
Football is finally back! We got our first look at this new-look Raiders team on Thursday night. It was a very up-and-down night, so let’s unpack it! Of course, we’ll start with the guy who everyone tuned in to see.
Fernando Mendoza is not ready yet, but he’ll be okay…
Mendoza’s first drive looked like that of a quarterback making his NFL debut. The Raiders’ first overall pick showed some of the typical hallmarks of a rookie quarterback, such as the happy feet and leaving the pocket early. However, he did settle in on his second drive and delivered a touchdown strike to Jack Bech. At the end of the day, 10 of 16 for 97 yards and a touchdown is not a bad first impression.
Luckily, Mendoza can take his time developing because the starter, Kirk Cousins, looked great. In the one drive the Raiders had with the starters, Cousins looked dialed in. The veteran quarterback looked the part with impeccable accuracy and timing as he marched the offense down the field for a Michael Mayer touchdown catch.
Right now, Mendoza is pretty clearly the second-best quarterback on the roster. That doesn’t mean anyone needs to sound the “bust alarm.” It just means that the Raiders are bringing their future franchise quarterback along the right way.
Speaking of the rookies…
Related: The Raiders might have found their RB2 this week
The Raiders found a Day 3 gem in Mike Washington Jr.
We saw a lot of Washington at running back on Thursday night, and so far, it looks like the fourth-round pick is going to be a very productive complement to Ashton Jeanty. Washington displayed excellent vision, explosiveness and contact balance on his way to 63 rushing yards on just six carries, including one that he ripped off for 53 yards.
This Klint Kubiak offense is going to be very reliant on play-action, which means Las Vegas has to establish the run. It takes more than one back to do that, regardless of how special Jeanty is. Washington looks like the perfect guy to come in for five to 10 carries a game and not have the ground game slow down in any way. Great pick.
Unfortunately, it was not all sunshine and rainbows for the Silver and Black.
The secondary still has a long way to go…
It is no secret that the Las Vegas secondary struggled mightily last season. That unit did not look any better in the preseason opener as the Cardinals torched the Raiders on 26 of 30 passing for 212 yards and three touchdowns. The starters, many of whom were returning from last year, struggled. In particular, Darien Porter does not look any better than he did this time last year. Veterans Eric Stokes and Jeremy Chinn continue to lead this group with replacement-level play.
This is why the Raiders spent four of their 10 draft picks on the defensive backfield this past spring. However, the rookies did not look any better. Jermod McCoy looked like a guy who hadn’t played in a year as he gave up two touchdowns. Hezekiah Masses, despite showing the tenacity that earned him a ton of training camp hype, looked very undersized against Arizona’s big-bodied receivers. The Arizona duo of Treydan Stukes and Dalton Johnson looked alright, but nothing special.
As much as there was to get excited about offensively, the Raiders’ defense was a clear reminder that this team is still probably a year away from being seriously competitive.
*Top Photo: Ramble Illustration/Getty Images