Raiders training camp is nearly here, which means that all teams, including the Las Vegas Raiders, are set to answer the most basic question: who’s the starter? For some teams, those questions are already set in stone. However, for a team in a rebuild like the Raiders, anything is possible as the calendar turns to August. With everything up in the air, any outcome is possible, which serves as a source of hope to the newest members, but a gut check to the incumbents.
Here’s a look at the biggest training camp battles to keep an eye on heading into the training camp period.
Biggest Raiders Training Camp Battles To Note Heading Into The Preseason
1. Jack Bech vs Jalen Nailor vs Tre Tucker
Jack Bech showed plenty of flash at the Senior Bowl when he hauled in the game-winning touchdown late in the contest in early 2025 in Mobile, Alabama. However, he didn’t take the wide receiver room by the horns in his rookie NFL season. Not everyone does, but as Bech heads into his second season with seemingly as open a competition as he might ever get, it will be up to him to seize the moment.
Of course, Jalen Nailor and Tre Tucker will have their own say in who starts for the team this year. Tucker appears to be the favorite as the incumbent WR1, but with a new coach, nothing is guaranteed.
2. Ashton Jeanty vs Mike Washington Jr.
Ashton Jeanty entered as the bellcow back in 2025. One year later, he is likely to be one of a two-headed monster after a season that saw him earn far fewer yards than he did in his monumental college career. While Jeanty is likely to remain the starter, he could lose a lot of ground depending on how Mike Washington Jr. looks in camp.
In 2025, Washington earned 1,070 yards and averaged 6.4 yards per carry on the ground, per Sports Reference.
The question is whether Jeanty will finish Raiders training camp with bellcow status or as a member of a committee. To many, that would be a demotion almost as big as losing the starting job.
3. Kirk Cousins vs Fernando Mendoza
Kirk Cousins and Fernando Mendoza are set to be a prototypical mentor and apprentice heading into the season. Cousins is expected to be the starter, but the quarterback is coming off a backup stint with the Atlanta Falcons. The question is whether he can outpace Mendoza in camp.
Even if there is no official competition or if there’s a staged one with a predetermined result in favor of Cousins, a dominant-looking Mendoza could overrule anything the Raiders coaching staff has told itself about how it will select its quarterback going into the season.
Cam Newton famously lost the starting job to rookie Mac Jones in the Patriots’ 2021 training camp. Could the Raiders be on a similar course?