Why the Slide?: Jermod McCoy

Why the Slide Series

This series was created a number of years ago in response to questions about why certain well-known prospects went unselected in NFL drafts. For these articles, I reach out to sources with NFL teams to find out why their organizations passed on drafting a given player and/or the reasons other teams passed on that prospect. The positive response to “Why Undrafted” and questions from readers about why prospects were drafted lower than the media’s expectations led us to create the parallel series “Why the Slide?” and “Was it a Reach?”

The trio of series is back this year. Feel free to email me requests at [email protected]. I can’t promise to get to all of them, but I will do my best and definitely will respond to the email.

For a lot of the lead-up to the 2026 NFL Draft, Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy was a projected first-round pick. Sources from around the league raved about his 2024 tape and felt that his final season of tape was the best of any cornerback prospect in the 2026 draft. However, McCoy missed the 2025 season after a torn ACL. He ran fast in a pre-draft workout, but McCoy is still restricted in his rehab and cannot do football drills or practice yet. Hence, McCoy slipped to the fourth round of the 2026 draft.

Team sources say a complicated medical situation caused McCoy to slide. Some teams feel he needs another corrective surgery on the knee. That surgery could cause him to miss next season. Some felt he should go ahead and do it to be ready for the 2027 season. If he tries playing in 2026 and then has to have the surgery late, that could jeopardize his 2027 season. The uncertainty about McCoy’s availability and whether his knee issues will linger for years to come caused him to slide.

The Raiders ended McCoy’s fall when they traded up to take him at the top of the fourth round. This was a good landing spot for McCoy, as Las Vegas is in a long-term rebuilding project without expectations to win right away, and McCoy will have time to rehab. Las Vegas re-signed Eric Stokes after he had a quality showing with the Raiders last year. They also added slot corner Taron Johnson, and have 2025 third-round pick Darien Porter projected to start. However, if McCoy returns to his 2024 form, he could be a No. 1 corner as he is another level of talent from those players. A healthy McCoy would give the Raiders a nice group of cornerbacks with a true No. 1 to build their secondary around.