General manager John Spytek said in his first public comments since drafting Jermod McCoy that his belief in the Las Vegas Raiders and their understanding of his injury made the organization comfortable selecting the star Tennessee cornerback in the fourth round.
He would not, however, comment on McCoy’s potential availability for the 2026 season.
“We’re optimistic about the player, the person and our plan with him,” Spytek said during a Wednesday appearance on “Up & Adams.” “We’re excited to get him out on the grass sometime very soon.”
McCoy was considered one of the most talented players in the draft and a potential top-10 pick before questions arose about his surgically-repaired knee. While the ACL appears to have healed, certainly enough for him to run a sub-4.4 second 40-yard dash at his pro day, there are reportedly concerns about the stability of a plug used during the surgery.
Reports have indicated he could need a second surgery that could cause him to miss his rookie season or potentially shorten his career. McCoy, however, said he believes he is good and will work with the Raiders to formulate a plan for his future.
Spytek said the team has had medical data on McCoy and all the draft prospects since the combine, and those reports are interpreted by the Raiders medical staff to determine a risk assessment.
He believes the interests of the team and the player are aligned because health and longevity are beneficial to both.
Spytek said the comfort level of the medical staff and the personnel staff lined up going into Saturday’s final four rounds that they believed it was the right time to draft him.
Since they held the second pick of the day, they also felt it was prudent to move up a spot with a trade to make sure that decision wasn’t rendered moot if he was somehow taken with the first pick of the fourth round.
“(We wanted to) eliminate any mystery or possible thing that could come up last second and cost us a player we really valued,” Spytek said. “We were thrilled to get Jermod. He’s a highly talented kid, but a really good kid and a thoughtful worker. We’re excited to see him here tomorrow (for the start of rookie minicamp).”
Spytek did push back on the notion he and his staff waited until Friday night when he was still sitting on the draft board to fully vet the possibility of drafting McCoy.
“We were staring at a player on our board that was way above everybody else,” Spytek said, “This wasn’t a Friday night decision or a week of the draft decision, either. We have a wonderful medical team here that spends countless hours pouring over every prospect in the draft and talking to people and going to the combine and really trying to make sure we’re comfortable with the players we’re bringing in from a medical standpoint.
“This was a very well vetted, thoughtful process that we talked about at lengths for weeks and even months before.”
The end result is a potential first-round player the Raiders were able to select in the fourth round.
Time will tell whether the risk was worth the reward.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.
