The Raiders Picked Jermod McCoy 101st Overall, And It's The Biggest Bet On A Knee In The League

Alright, hold up. While we're all out here bleeding green and blue, watching every move our Seahawks make and hyping up our guys, you gotta take a second and look at some of the wild stuff happening in the rest of the league. Did you catch what the Raiders pulled off in the draft with Jermod McCoy? This kid, a cornerback out of Tennessee, was seen as one of the absolute best players, a legit Top 10 talent for the 2026 NFL Draft. But then he fell. And he fell hard. All the way to the fourth round, pick 101 overall. Why? One word: his knee. And now, the Raiders are gambling big time, expecting him to be ready for full training camp work.

The Talent That Almost Wasn't

Talk about a gut punch for a player, right? McCoy had that undeniable Top 10 talent, the kind of guy every team, including ours, dreams of getting to lock down the secondary. But then, the absolute worst happened. He tore his ACL while working out in the 2025 offseason, wiping out his entire college football season. Man, you gotta feel for him. That injury, and the massive question marks around whether his knee would ever fully heal, pushed him way down the draft boards. Ninety-one picks, from a projected top-tier talent to a fourth-rounder. Every GM in the league had to be sweating over that decision, weighing the risk of that potentially damaged knee against his insane skill.

The Vegas Bet: Kubiak's Risky Play

So now, a year later, the Raiders are still taking it slow with McCoy in Organized Team Activities. That makes total sense, given the severity of the injury and the stakes involved. But here's where it gets interesting: Raiders coach Klint Kubiak is sounding pretty optimistic about the kid's training camp prospects. Kubiak told reporters, "I expect him to practice. I expect him to be on the field. It's going to be a moving target with him, but we drafted him for a reason, drafted him to play, so I expect him to compete in camp and get plenty of reps." "Moving target" is some classic coach-speak for "we're watching this really closely," but the confidence about practicing and competing? That's huge. If McCoy's knee holds up and he can get back to anything close to his old form, the Raiders just got themselves an absolute steal by taking him at 101. There's real optimism that he's going to be ready to go as a rookie, which would be a massive win for them. High stakes and healing hopes This whole situation with McCoy is a perfect example of the high-wire act teams play in the draft. That knee injury is the ultimate wild card, and training camp is going to be the first real test. Every rep he takes, every cut he makes, will be under a microscope. It just makes you appreciate how crucial health is for our own squad. While we're out here in the Emerald City hyped for Sam Darnold slinging it to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and watching what Brian Fleury cooks up, it's wild to see other teams taking these kinds of huge, high-risk gambles. McCoy's journey from a top prospect to a fourth-round gamble is a story the whole league will be watching closely, hoping that his knee finally holds up.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.