Raiders Mailbag: Mendoza vs. Cousins, Crosby’s Impact

HENDERSON, Nev.—The Las Vegas Raiders enter a critical time in the offseason as the Organized Team Activities (OTA) portion is about to get underway.

You will often hear the OTA season referred to as “Optional” team activities, because that is what it is and how it is more often described around the league.

While these are optional, only the truly elite can skip without retribution, and the truly elite rarely want to miss a chance to improve.  Teams, however, are very understanding when players communicate in advance, and rarely are absences that are handled in advance frowned upon.

I asked you via my X (formerly Twitter) account for some of your offseason questions, and you responded with some tremendous ones.  Thank you.

Cousins vs. Mendoza

There is zero debate, Kirk Cousins is QB1.  That is factual, and there is no need for interpretation.  But Fernando Mendoza will have every opportunity to grow and learn.  This time of year, every quarterback, including Aidan O’Connell, will get reps with the first team, and there is nothing to read into that.

No one is going to stand as an impediment to Mendoza, but there is value in watching and learning.  If he wins the job, and he will have ample time to do that, he will have to legitimately earn it, but there is a clear separation today between him and Cousins, and it will be up to him, especially early, to close that gap. He is a fierce competitor, and during training camp in particular, it is the time I would watch closely to see if he were to make a move upward.

I do not believe anything he does during the OTA or mandatory minicamp phase can win him the job or move him up the depth chart.  May and June are about learning, and from none better than Kirk Cousins.

Mutlple Looks

This is a great question, so let’s try to get you a great answer.  Yes, it is accurate that the Raiders are moving towards a base 3-4 defense, but it is also categorically untrue that they are abandoning everything else.

Last year was a disaster, and not because of Patrick Graham. Las Vegas Raiders fans saw the D fail last season when it was pigeon-holed, and flourish when it wasn’t (hint: for six halves).

More on that on Friday, when I address the dysfunction of the defense last season, and how the Las Vegas Raiders are fixing it this year.

The Raiders will be in multiple formations, including 3-4, 4-3, 3-4-4, 3-3-5, and other sets. The better question will be what Rob Leonard won’t do, as much as what he will do.

With Maxx Crosby, it is imperative to remember that, in my view, and many around the NFL, the best defender in the game, finding a place for him on the field is not the issue.  He can attack the offense from various places on the field, and what you will see in Rob Leonard is a defensive coordinator without the dysfunction above him, able to attack from all over the field.

I was told earlier this offseason, “What fans will see now is a Silver and Black defense that can and will attack from wherever they want, whenever they want.”

Interpretations? The Raiders are not what they will be in 2028, but they are not going to sit back and be victims like you saw so much of in 2025 (outside of six halves… hint for Friday), and they will be more of an attacking mindset, with Maxx utilized prominently.

Offense vs. Defense: Who Adjusts Quicker?

I love this question because it gets into game strategy, which I enjoy.

Without a doubt, I expect the defense to adapt more rapidly. The intricacies of NFL offense are so complex that this is almost always the case. I am not diminishing the strategy or nuances of defense, but the Kubiak offensive system demands agile, adaptive thinking and learning, while the Rob Leonard defense, though complex, focuses on aggression, disruption, and demoralization.

No doubt defense should progress more quickly, and no doubt, both units will have challenges in 2026, but Raider Nation will glimpse their direction, and I think you will appreciate it.

Vinnce Lombarid and Al Davis

In my seven years covering the Raiders, there has been no time when the excitement and genuine hope, anchored in reality, have been more tangible.

What John Spytek, Klint Kubiak, and the rest of the Silver and Black brain trust have done is set a realistic course, predicated on functionality rather than trying to outthink everyone.

Vince Lombardi had a famous quote: “Everyone knows it's coming; the question is can they stop it?”

The Raiders' brain trust isn’t trying to convince everyone they are the smartest people in the room anymore. They are trying to beat people; let the wins and the losses define them.

It worked for Lomardi, and it worked for Al Davis in his Raiders glory years, and the Raiders are betting it will work again.

If you work your plan, your plan works.  Their plan has worked, and they are sticking to it…finally.

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