Klint Kubiak has finally confirmed what everybody knew already and named Kirk Cousins his starting quarterback.The Las Vegas Raiders were always unlikely to gamble on throwing No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza straight into the fray after bringing in Cousins on what is effectively a one-year deal.Mendoza will eventually be handed the keys in VegasGettyMendoza has shown flashes in preseason, but it is Cousins who will lead the team against Miami in Week 1 when they start their season at Allegiant Stadium.Mendoza will now follow the same path as Baker Mayfield, who began his Cleveland Browns career behind Tyrod Taylor — the last first overall pick not to start Week 1.That came five months after Mayfield was selected first overall by the Browns, and had to bide his time before getting his start spot.Back in March, before the Raiders even drafted Heisman Trophy winner Mendonza, new Las Vegas coach Kubiak had made his intentions clear.“Ideally, you don’t want him to start from Day 1, you’d love him to be able to learn behind somebody,” he said.“That’s in a perfect world, it doesn’t always work out that way.“Sometimes they have to play from Day 1, and it’s our job as coaches to get them ready to go. I think it does help the player if they can sit behind a mature adult and watch how they run the show.”Kubiak, general manager John Spytek and minority owner Tom Brady then went out and signed Cousins to a deal in Free Agency, and then swept up Mendoza with the first overall pick.The 22-year-old will now have chance to sit and develop but must stay ready, Cousins has not been the same quarterback since an Achilles injury during his final season in Minnesota.Since Mayfield was drafted, Mendoza is the eighth quarterback to be selected with the No 1 – Jacksonville’s selection of Travon Walker in 2022 is the only outlier.Kubiak was brought in to develop Mendoza into a franchise QBGettyCousins will hope to delay the passing of the torch longer than TaylorGettyWho was the last quarterback picked first not to start in Week 1?Kyler Murray (Arizona), Joe Burrow (Cincinnati), Trevor Lawrence (Jacksonville), Bryce Young (Carolina), Caleb Williams (Chicago) and Cam Ward (Tennessee) all started in Week 1.Mayfield was eventually thrown into the fray in Week 3 after an injury to Taylor and led a dramatic second-half comeback to snap a winless streak on Thursday Night Football.He is now on his fourth team having succeeded Tom Brady in Tamp Bay – although he remains in contract dispute with the Buccaneers.Baker Mayfield had to wait until Week 3 before being handed his first NFL start in his rookie seasonGettyWhile Raiders fans would love to have seen Mendoza under center right away, the reality is many young QBs are thrown into difficult situations.Brady himself sat behind Drew Bledsoe in New England until injury opened the door for the Michigan Wolverine selected with the 199th pick in the 2000 NFL Draft.He went on to win six Super Bowls with the Patriots, and added a seven in Tampa Bay – and has often spoken about the importance of sitting and learning.Patrick Mahomes was another who took the patient route.Kansas City traded up to select Mahomes with the 10th overall pick in 2016, and he sat behind Alex Smith for his entire rookie season.He eventually started the final game of the season, Smith was traded to Washington and Mahomes would go on to lead the Chiefs to the AFC title game where they were beaten by Brady and the Pats.The Raiders will hope Mendoza can go on to have even half the career of Brady or Mahomes after years in the quarterback wilderness for the franchise.