At the Las Vegas Raiders’ recent rookie minicamp there was tangible evidence that there is, at least, a chance that cornerback Jermod McCoy will be ready to play during the 2026 season.
McCoy, a fourth-round pick from Tennessee, was limited in practice during the minicamp. McCoy who tumbled in the draft due to health concerns.
McCoy was considered a top-1o talent and could become a true No.1 cornerback for a team that needs the help. He missed all of last season with a torn ACL. But there are deeper
issues. McCoy reportedly had a degenerative knee issue and he may need to have a surgery that could keep him out for a year. Reportedly, there are also risk that if the surgery doesn’t work he could never play.
Reportedly, there are concerns that he may have a short career at best. Also, reportedly, there were many teams that had McCoy off their draft board because of the injury concerns. ESPN reported this week that five of eight teams polled after Round 3 said he was off their draft boards due to the health worries. That tracks to be more than half the league.
McCoy told Raiders’ reporters the team will determine if he needs surgery. Raiders general manager John Spytek told Kay Adams this week the Raiders were confident in their plan for McCoy and ESPN reported they are optimistic he can play this season.
So, if McCoy does, indeed, play as a rookie, it would dramatically change and improve the Raiders; outlook at the position immediately.
In addition to McCoy, the Raiders have Eric Stokes, Darien Porter, Taron Johnson, fifth-round draft pick Hezekiah Masses, Decamerion Richardson, Greedy Vance and Chigozie Anusiem.
The Raiders will likely keep five or six cornerbacks on the roster. For the sake of this exercise, let’s say they will roll with six on the roster.
If McCoy is active, he will be playing at the top of the rotation. He and Stokes will likely be the outside starters with Johnson playing nickel.
Then, it would likely be Porter, Masses and maybe Richardson rounding out the cornerbacks group. But he could also face competiton for the final spot.
McCoy’s presence would deepen Las Vegas at this position greatly. The could be strong up front. The loser here would be Porter, a promising 2025 third-round pick. He flashed at times last season. Still, he would be a great depth piece and it would be good news for the Raiders overall, because a once questioned position, would have become very deep.
This scenario is why the Raiders took the risk of drafting McCoy. It he is healthy, it will pay off big.
