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Arizona beat Las Vegas 27-14 on Thursday night to open the preseason for both teams, and the final score matters a lot less than what each roster showed with its top picks and its depth pieces on the field. Two rookies taken in the top three of this year's draft got their first live snaps, a sixth-round receiver kept doing exactly what gets a name circled on a roster sheet, and one team lost a starting-caliber piece for the season in the process. Here is what was actually learned, sourced from the coverage out of both camps.
Jeremiyah Love, the third overall pick out of Notre Dame, carried 11 times for 58 yards in his preseason debut, mixing in a spin move that made a couple of Raiders defenders miss in the open field, per SI.com's recap of the game. That production came despite Love sitting behind Tyler Allgeier on Arizona's first official depth chart of the summer, as NBC Sports reported when it was released. The listing is not really a talent statement. James Conner, Arizona's lead back the last few seasons, is still working back from the foot injury that ended his 2025 season early and required surgery, so Allgeier has been soaking up the first-team practice reps a rookie normally wants for himself, per Yahoo Sports' breakdown of the situation. None of that changes the outlook once games count. Barring a setback, Love is Arizona's back, and Thursday's tape, including the wiggle he showed between the tackles, is the first real evidence of why the Cardinals used a top-three pick on him instead of a receiver or an edge rusher.
Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 overall pick after his Heisman-winning season at Indiana, went 10-of-16 for 97 yards and a 6-yard touchdown pass to Jack Bech in his first preseason action, per ESPN's game recap. He nearly had a second scoring throw in the fourth quarter and drew praise for his command of the huddle even in a losing effort. All of that came in relief of Kirk Cousins, who opened the game 5-of-6 for 50 yards and his own touchdown to Michael Mayer. Las Vegas listed Mendoza as its clear QB2 behind Cousins on the first depth chart of camp, confirmed separately by NBC Sports, after trading away Geno Smith to the Jets to clear the runway for its new quarterback. The plan is not a real competition this year. It is Cousins starting while Mendoza gets exactly this kind of preseason run, and Thursday's line is a reasonable first data point for a dynasty stash, not a redraft priority.
Malik Benson, the 195th overall pick out of Oregon, came down with a 19-yard catch from Mendoza in traffic, threading a throw between three defenders, and it extended a training camp stretch that has already made him one of the most talked-about names at Raiders camp outside of the quarterback battle itself, according to Silver and Black Pride. He is not walking into an open room. Tre Tucker, Jalen Nailor and Jack Bech are already established in Las Vegas's receiver rotation, so Benson's path to a real role runs through special teams value and forcing his way past a specific group of camp bodies for one of the last two or three spots on the depth chart. A sixth-round rookie doing this in mid-August, against a team that isn't his own, is worth a speculative add in the deepest best ball formats, not because the role is guaranteed but because this is precisely the profile, a Day 3 pick who tests well and separates in camp, that occasionally turns into real snaps by October.
Second-round rookie guard Chase Bisontis tore his MCL in the game and will need surgery, a real setback for interior offensive line depth heading into the regular season, per CBS Sports. Separately, Trey McBride was held out entirely as a normal veteran rest decision, and Carson Beck, who had just made his Hall of Fame Game debut, sat out with a rib injury, both noted in SI.com's recap. None of those three absences change how Love or Mendoza should be valued, but they are the kind of camp notes that quietly shape a depth chart well before Week 1 of the regular season does.
Nothing here should move a startup or best ball board dramatically off one preseason opener, but it should sharpen how you're valuing three specific names. Love's workload concern is about health and reps, not talent, so treat any ADP dip as a buying opportunity rather than a real red flag, and check the rookie rankings to see where he's currently being valued relative to the rest of his class. Mendoza is a stash in dynasty formats behind an established veteran, worth tracking on the dynasty cheat sheet rather than drafting for 2026 snaps. Benson is the one name from this game worth a speculative, very late look in best ball, and the best ball tool is the right place to check whether his price has moved at all since Thursday. One preseason game rarely changes a season. This one gave both fan bases real, specific things to watch instead.
