Kirk Cousins Named Raiders’ Starting QB: Fantasy Football & Dynasty Impact

At long last, the Las Vegas Raiders have named their starting quarterback for the upcoming season. Let's discuss the decision and all the fantasy/dynasty football implications here.

We'll discuss the offensive fantasy players who are impacted by the decision. Let's jump right in!

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Cousins Wins Starting Role

As most of us expected, Kirk Cousins was tabbed the team's starting quarterback. ESPN's Adam Schefter broke the news.

The 38-year-old Cousins beat out 2026 No. 2 overall pick Fernando Mendoza for the starting role. That was the expected move, with the team saying it was going to ease Mendoza into things.

I think it's worth noting that Schefter wrote that Cousins would be the team's starter in Week 1. It doesn't guarantee that the veteran will stick in that role, and I'd be shocked if Mendoza doesn't make several starts this coming season.

Cousins has played in 14 NFL seasons, getting 167 starts over 174 games played. He's completed 66.7% of his passes for 44,700 yards, 298 touchdowns and 131 interceptions. He went 5-3 as the Falcons' starting QB last season - he completed 61.7% of his passes for 1,721 yards, 10 touchdowns and five interceptions.

Of course, Mendoza is coming off a legendary run at Indiana that culminated in a national title. He's the future franchise quarterback, but probably could use some more seasoning before he's turned loose.

The 22-year-old still has a really high dynasty/keeper value, and he'll add redraft value if/when he gets starts for the Raiders in 2026-27 and beyond. Don't be too worried about Mendoza not starting early on, but it could hurt those teams who were hoping the No. 1 pick would start right away.

As for Cousins, he's a low-level fantasy QB to start the season, and that's just in redraft leagues, as he's not worth holding in many dynasty/keeper leagues. 

Other Raiders' Playmakers

The Raiders' offense is low on playmakers, but there's some notable fantasy assets in there. Running back Ashton Jeanty is one of the big pieces, and tight end Brock Bowers is another. 

Both are high-end draft picks, but Jeanty is falling as a draft asset as the season nears, while Bowers is going up. Jeanty has dealt with an injury that is clouding things up. Bowers had an injury a season ago, but looks destined to be the team's top pass catcher in 2026-27.

The news of Cousins winning the starting job doesn't really alter much for Jeanty or Bowers, or any other Raiders' skill players for that matter. It's something to keep in mind if the team is bouncing back and forth between different QBs though, as that often leads to inconsistent showings for fantasy players. 

Tre Tucker, Jalen Nailor and Jack Bech are the three projected starters at wide receiver. Rookie Malik Benson and Dareke Young are a couple other options to kick off the season.

No Las Vegas wideout is going inside the top-200 picks in PPR formats, but Tucker and Nailor don't miss the mark by much. Depending on how each guy is performing, and how consistently, either could work into more fantasy leagues, and even some standard leagues.

Again though, if the Raiders are switching quarterbacks during the season, which seems very likely at this point, those secondary options are all just deep-league assets, at best. We'll cover them here if they emerge as waiver wire options in standard leagues, so check back throughout the season for those articles.

Final Thoughts

Jeanty and Bowers are the two Raiders' fantasy assets you want to be rostering/utilizing in standard redraft leagues this year. Outside those two, everyone else looks just like deep-league options to start things.

Cousins and/or Mendoza are just deep-league options unless they deliver big and then have favorable matchups after that. They could be streaming options in standard leagues for favorable matchups too, so don't write them off for the full season.

The bigger news of the Raiders naming Cousins the starting quarterback comes in the real world. It's not what most football fans wanted, but it's what the Raiders believe gives the team the best chance to win early on, while letting Mendoza mature and settle in a bit more.

Depending on how the Raiders fare early on will determine how many starts Cousins makes in the long run. If the team is losing early and often, don't expect the veteran to keep starting. Mendoza will get his chance at some point, and he's likely to keep the starting role after that.

It'll be a fascinating storyline to follow, and one we'll update you on here at FantasySP! Keep checking back with us all football season!