Getting Key Cornerback Healthy Is A Major Issue For Raiders In Their Secondary
· Yahoo Sports
The Las Vegas Raiders are overhauling their secondary, and one of their key issues is getting cornerback Jermod McCoy on the field and ready to contrbute.
McCoy’s backstory is familiar by know. He tumbled down draft boards back in April due to his medicals, as he’s coming off ACL surgery and another injury there could be a career-ender due to the repair procedure that was used.
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The talent level is noticeable, however, as Ryan McFadden of ESPN did an update on McCoy’s situation after OTAs and minicamp.
"He jumps out when he does individual [drills] with how explosive he is, and you see the talent," defensive coordinator Rob Leonard said.
But McCoy’s participation has been limited so far by design. The Raiders have McCoy working with wellness coordinator Alex Guerrero and the medical staff, but it should be noted that Guerrero is a guy who used to peddle “concussion water.”
Coach Klint Kubiak seems sold on what Guerrero is doing, however, and he knew the recover process would be slow after the draft.
"He's done a great job," Kubiak said. "We're asking him to spend a lot of time with [Guerrero] just to get him ready, so that when we put him out there come training camp, we have 100% confidence in him. [We are] really excited about seeing him practice come training camp."
There was talk that McCoy might need an additional medical rocedure, but the Raiders have opted against it. It’s a high-risk choice, but Las Vegas is trying to keep the focus on the football side.
"Football is football. ...For me, the hardest thing is I really want to do more fundamental drills with him just to develop them the way I see," said defensive backs coach/pass game coordinator Joe Woods, who is entering his second season in Las Vegas. "But that whole process, he's fine. When we had him, it was like he didn't miss any time."
It’s easy to see why the Raiders want him on the field based on his football numbers at Tennessee. McCoy gave up a completion rate of just 41.9 percent and a QBR of 15.2 when targeted, and allowed fewer than 10 yards per reception in nine games, according to McFadden.
"I mean, corners that can cover are rare," said defensive coordinator Rob Leonard. "The back end is extremely competitive, it's day-to-day. Those young guys are hungry.”
Eric Stokes is now the old head in the secondary, and he signed a three-year, $30 milllion dollar deal in the offseason to help lead the group.
"I love the new guys," Stokes said. "I just can't wait to see how they're going to develop. ...It's always a challenge, but I feel like that we got the right guys and we got the right people in the room to help them grow."