Cornerback Jermod McCoy Drafted No. 101 By Las Vegas Raiders In Massive 2026 NFL Draft Slide
Draft weekend is a theater of dreams, but for a few prospects every year, it morphs into an agonizing waiting game. You sit by the phone, watching guys you clamped up on Saturdays get their names called before you. That was the stark reality this year for Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy.
Coming into the weekend, Jermod McCoy was widely viewed as a first-round lock and a top-15 talent. But Thursday night passed without a phone call. Then Friday came and went. By the time Saturday morning rolled around, fans were collectively scratching their heads. How does a player with elite SEC tape plummet completely out of the top 100?
Why Did Jermod McCoy Slide In the Draft?
If you just look at the raw athleticism and the game film, the slide makes zero sense. Jermod McCoy is a freakish athlete. At his pro day, he casually blazed a 4.37 in the 40-yard dash, posted a 38-inch vertical, and cleared a 10-foot-7 broad jump. This is a guy who routinely erased top-tier college wide receivers and possesses unbelievable ball skills. So, what caused 31 front offices to get cold feet? Two words: medical rechecks.
McCoy suffered a torn ACL back in January of 2025, which wiped out his entire college season. While ACL tears are practically a rite of passage in modern football, the whisper mill during draft week pointed to something much trickier. Reports surfaced about a “bone plug” in his surgically repaired knee. Suddenly, team doctors started tossing around terrifying phrases like “degenerative issues” and “second surgery.”
When medical red flags pop up on a cornerback who relies heavily on elite change-of-direction skills, draft boards get shuffled. Fast.
The Las Vegas Raiders Take a Calculated Risk
Every draft slide eventually hits a floor. For Jermod McCoy, that floor was the first pick of the fourth round (101st overall). The Las Vegas Raiders finally stopped the bleeding, deciding the sheer upside was simply too tantalizing to pass up.
And honestly? This is a brilliant roll of the dice by Vegas. If the Raiders need to redshirt McCoy for another season to clean up his knee and ensure his long-term health, they have the luxury to do so. They essentially bought a high-upside lottery ticket. If he gets fully healthy, the Raiders just secured a lockdown, Day 1 talent on a Day 3 budget.
Adding a little humor to the mix, McCoy is walking into a locker room with the Raiders’ No. 1 overall pick, Quarterback Fernando Mendoza. The irony? McCoy’s very first college interception came at Mendoza’s expense when they played against each other in the Pac-12. Training camp battles should be highly entertaining.
What’s Next For Jermod McCoy?
You have to feel for the kid. Watching 100 players get drafted ahead of you is a brutal pill to swallow. But instead of sulking, Jermod McCoy is bringing a massive chip on his shoulder to the desert.
“I was prepared for whatever happened, but I would’ve been excited to go higher, for sure,” McCoy told reporters after being selected. “I feel like I’m super mentally strong. I have a story that I’m still trying to write.”
As for the knee? McCoy insists his own surgeons have cleared him, but he is mature enough to play the long game. If the Raiders’ medical staff wants to perform another procedure to protect his career longevity, he is completely on board.
The NFL is built on massive chips and redemption stories. If his body holds up, Jermod McCoy is about to make a whole lot of general managers regret sleeping on him during the first two days of the draft.
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