Las Vegas Raiders rookie Fernando Mendoza is already drawing scrutiny before he has taken a public snap, and Phillip Dorsett fired back at one X user who accused the team of polishing the No. 1 pick’s rookie minicamp highlights to hide his mistakes. Mendoza has only been able to work in rookie minicamps so far, while the Raiders have been posting clips from those sessions online.

The dispute flared on May 9, 2026, after a user on X wrote, “Let me guess they will edit out all the interceptions and all the bad looking passes Fernando Mendoza makes from here until the pre-season starts.” Dorsett answered, “Yeah Duhhh, Just like all the other 31 teams do with their QB.” The exchange may have been casual, but it landed on a real point: Mendoza is the Raiders’ No. 1 pick, and the team is managing expectations around a quarterback who has not yet been allowed to practice in front of the public.

That matters because the Raiders used a first-round pick on a quarterback for the first time since 2007, a move that carries immediate pressure whether the player is ready or not. Kirk Cousins already is on the roster, giving Las Vegas a veteran option who could keep the season from going sideways if Mendoza needs time. At the same time, the Raiders also added center Tyler Linderbaum to help improve the offensive line, a move that could change the entire conversation about when Mendoza should play.

Henry McKenna of Fox Sports argued the team needs to be careful about rushing Mendoza before he is surrounded by the right talent. “One of the best imaginable outcomes for Mendoza would be that he could turn into Joe Burrow or Matt Ryan,” McKenna said, but he added that the decision should not rest on the quarterback alone: “This is to say that the final decision should probably come down to more than Mendoza. Yes, he’ll have to be ready. But there’s more to it than that. Even if Mendoza is ready for the NFL, the Raiders might not be ready for him.”

That is the tension now. If the pass blocking is not atrocious like it was last year, Mendoza deserves a fair shot to start in Week 1. If it is, Cousins becomes more than a placeholder; he becomes the reason the Raiders can delay a difficult choice without letting the season slip away before it starts.