Jermod McCoy to Raiders, Fans React as NFL Draft Slide Ends for B/R's No. 11 Overall Prospect

Jermod McCoy's slide ended on Saturday when the Las Vegas Raiders selected him with the first pick of the fourth round in the 2026 NFL draft.

The Tennessee cornerback is B/R's 11th-ranked player overall in the class, but concerns about his knee caused teams to hold off on taking him until Day 3.

After the Raiders took McCoy, the response from fans and analysts was very positive with a lot of enthusiasm for how well Vegas has done so far in the draft.

McCoy missed the entire 2025 season due to a torn ACL. He had an outstanding workout at Tennessee's pro day in March that seemed to alleviate any concerns about his health leading up to the draft.

However, after the second round ended on Friday with McCoy still on the board, Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson explained there's a bone plug in McCoy's knee to repair a degenerative cartilage issue that could at some point require another surgical procedure.

Per The MMQB's Albert Breer, the type of surgery McCoy could require is similar to a microfracture procedure and his career would likely be over if it is needed.

There's no indication at this point that McCoy will need that surgery, but he's considered a higher risk for it having already had it done once and it being a degenerative issue in the knee.

When it was assumed that McCoy was fully back after recovering from the ACL injury, he was the No. 2 cornerback in the class behind Mansoor Delane on B/R's big board.

The Raiders are no stranger to taking a shot on high-ceiling defensive players in the fourth round. Maxx Crosby was the 106th pick in the 2019 draft and has gone on to make the Pro Bowl five times in his first seven seasons.

If McCoy comes anywhere close to becoming the type of player that Crosby has been, the Raiders will have gotten the steal of the draft. He joins a class that already includes No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza, safety Treydan Stukes, EDGE Keyron Crawford and center Trey Zuhn III.