Gang Green Nation
Last week, we dove into the four most popular mocked players at the time for pick #16: Makai Lemon, Keldric Faulk, Peter Woods, and David Bailey. This week, we’ll take a brief look at four other possibilities according to the latest mock drafts.
Jermod McCoy:
This one will undoubtedly be met with some passionate angst. Prospect evaluation aside, this pick carries extra baggage. It was one of the selections acquired in the Sauce Gardner trade. The idea of the Jets moving a top-flight corner in his prime only to turn around and draft another corner who, in a best-case scenario, merely becomes “another Sauce” is understandably going to rub a lot of fans the wrong way.
Putting that aside, it’s hard not to like Jermod McCoy as a prospect, though there is one massive red flag: his injury history. McCoy tore his ACL in January 2025 and missed his entire junior season as a result.
That said, his on-field tape is super impressive.
As a 19-year-old sophomore in the SEC, McCoy wasn’t just good, he was excellent. No matter how you frame it, he played at an elite level, and doing so at such a young age only adds to the evaluation. In 2024, McCoy allowed a 53.6 passer rating when targeted, gave up receptions on just 50% of throws, and recorded four interceptions along with six pass breakups. Those numbers helped him finish as a top-five cornerback in PFF coverage grade among Power Four schools. To put that into perspective, two of the players ranked ahead of him ultimately became first-round picks last year. No one as young as he did performed as well as he did.
McCoy has solid size, has shown the ability to thrive in both man and zone coverage (grading top 10 in each), and held up well as a run defender. The main on-field concern is his tendency to get a bit too handsy at times, which resulted in eight penalties.
Still, the sophomore tape was strong enough (and his true freshman season at Oregon State impressive enough to draw interest from Tennessee in the transfer portal) that McCoy has remained a consensus top-20 prospect in this draft class for well over a year. Cornerback might not be the most natural need just because of the external circumstances, but this very much is a roster that needs good players everywhere. McCoy just might be that.
Kenyon Sadiq:
This will be another polarizing one. Looking into Sadiq, the main thing that jumps out: athleticism. There’s no questioning Sadiq’s raw athletic profile. He’s an athletic freak. Just look at what Bruce Feldman wrote about him when he landed on his annual Freaks List. Feldman wrote:
“The 6’3” Sadiq came to Oregon two years ago at 220 pounds but is now 255. He’s much leaner this season thanks to healthier eating, which he said has enabled him to go from 12–13 percent body fat to about 10. He vertical jumped 41.5 inches this summer, power cleaned...
