If not for missing all of the 2025 season after suffering a torn ACL and concerns about the condition of his knee as the draft approached, cornerback Jermod McCoy might've been a top-10 pick in this draft. As Day 3 started, the Las Vegas Raiders ended the Tennessee product's fall at pick No. 101.
Taking a first-round talent with the first pick of the fourth round greatly reduces, if not eliminates, the risk for the Raiders and general manager John Spytek. They were obviously fine with McCoy's medical evaluation, at least enough to move up and ensure they got him to open up on Day 3.
Still, the reporting from Yahoo's Charles Robinson after Day 2 of the draft to help explain McCoy's fall sticks with you. Robinson cited the previous news of a "bone plug" to repair a degenerative cartilage issue in the same knee, unrelated to the ACL tear that cost McCoy last season.
Robinson also noted that McCoy may need to have that replaced entirely, so if or when that next surgery has to happen, it would sideline McCoy for a year. And if said surgery were not to be successful, his career would effectively be over. That is a scary truth to face.
Jermod McCoy makes Raiders fans feel better by addressing elephant in the room
Not making it to a second NFL contract is one thing, especially when we're talking about a fourth-round pick. But the end of McCoy's career possibly lurking, whenever it may be deemed necessary to do that bone plug replacement surgery, is a whole different deal.
However, speaking to Raiders reporters right after he was drafted, McCoy quelled fans' concerns. Not only did he say that his knee feels good, but he also noted that it's up to the team whether he undergoes another surgery.
"All of my doctors that did my surgery told me [that] I'm good," McCoy said, via ESPN's Ryan McFadden. "But if there's something that [the Raiders] want me to do for the longevity of my career, I'm willing to do that because I feel like they have my best interest."
That is a critical component of this whole equation. If he's willing to listen to the Raiders' doctors and not pull a Christian Wilkins, then the two sides can work together through this process. Las Vegas wouldn't have taken him, let alone traded up, if they were that concerned about him never playing.
It's not like McCoy is going to publicly say, "Yeah, my doctors said my knee is fine, for now at least, but if or when I have another surgery, my football career could be over." He is going to look at things from a glass-half-full perspective, as he should. And it does no good to feed the negative narratives.
Maybe the Raiders are perfectly fine with possibly only getting a couple of seasons out of McCoy in that worst-case scenario, with the upside being: What if McCoy is healthy? In that case, they got an all-time draft steal.
Time will, of course, tell if the clear and present concerns about McCoy's knee and his career longevity are well-founded or not. But his expected words shortly after being drafted are what Raiders fans are holding onto right now.
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