Raiders QB1 is Kirk Cousins' job to lose after preseason performance
Kirk Cousins' strong preseason showing has him positioned as the presumptive Raiders starter heading into the season, which is a modest positive signal for his draft stock relative to where you may have had him valued coming out of Atlanta. Two outlets are aligned on the "job to lose" framing, though confidence on this read is mixed (80% and 50%), so treat it as directionally useful but not locked in. For draft prep, Cousins should be viewed as a low-end QB2 or late-round streamer candidate rather than a must-roster piece — the Raiders' offensive weapons and offensive line quality still cap his upside, and "job to lose" language always carries some risk that a rookie or backup could still factor in during camp or early in the season.
Fernando Mendoza's inclusion here is purely as the alternative being passed over; there's no standalone fantasy signal for him from this news. If he's on your dynasty or rookie radar, this doesn't change his outlook one way or the other — it simply confirms he's not the Week 1 starter in Las Vegas, assuming Mendoza is in that quarterback room. Don't reach for him in drafts based on this report alone.
Net effect for your build: treat Cousins as a viable late-round or streaming QB option worth a bench stash if you're punting the position early, but don't inflate his ADP off preseason buzz alone. Revisit this once final roster cuts and depth chart confirmations land, since the confidence split between sources suggests this story could still evolve before Week 1.
Kubiak said he liked what he saw from Fernando Mendoza in the preseason opener, but Cousins has been working with the first string and will continue to do so.