RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Raiders' focus on Fernando Mendoza and Kirk Cousins is hiding a bigger problem originally appeared on The Sporting News .
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The Las Vegas Raiders are all the talk in the NFL right now. That's what happens when you have two superstar quarterbacks on your roster .
The Raiders , of course, have veteran Kirk Cousins and rookie Fernando Mendoza on their roster. They selected Mendoza with their No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft. Expectations are high. The sky is the limit. All eyes are on these two.
But, it's easy to ignore other parts of the puzzle when the quarterbacks are getting all the media hype. The Raiders may have another problem that they need to address before the season starts.
Raiders' secondary could be their biggest problem
In a piece out on Saturday, ESPN's Ryan McFadden lays out a problem the Raiders have that perhaps they haven't addressed enough. It's their secondary.
"Las Vegas' secondary has potential, but will that lead to success in 2026?" he asks.
McFadden notes that cornerback Darien Porter continues to learn on the field after making the swift from a college wide receiver to an NFL cornerback. "He started 10 games as a rookie, but he has a lot more growing to do," he adds.
Meanwhile, "fourth-round rookie corner Jermod McCoy hasn't played football in more than a year because of a knee injury, so it will take time before he feels like his true self," McFadden adds. "Fifth-round rookie corner Hezekiah Masses is also learning."
Also, safety Treydan Stukes has a great shot of making a difference as a rookie, "but the Raiders are taking his development slowly because they are asking him to play deep safety and nickel," McFadden notes.
Considering how the Raiders have had problems in their two preseason games, it stands to reason that they need to pay attention to their secondary. Their secondary is young, and that's great, but it might need more time to develop.
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