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philibusters
The 1st Round Pick
I watched Jermod McCoy against Ohio State and Alabama from 2024, which made for really good evaluation tape because it was basically nonstop good on good. Between the two games he saw Jeremiah Smith, Emeka Egbuka, Carnell Tate, Germie Bernard, and Ryan Williams, so you’re getting a real test of how he holds up against NFL-level receivers.
In zone, what stood out most was how instinctive he is. There really weren’t many bad reps. He consistently showed a good feel for spacing and route concepts, like a nice snap against Ohio State where he took away the sit route in mesh. There were a couple plays where, in hindsight, you might say he overcommitted—one in particular where he drove on a corner route despite having safety help over the top—but for the most part he does a very good job not overreacting to the first thing he sees and opening up something else behind him. If he isn’t threatened, he actively looks for work and understands where routes are developing. There was a cover three rep where he wasn’t challenged on his side and was able to peel off and help on a post, and that wasn’t a one-off—he found ways to impact multiple plays like that. His trigger is quick, and paired with how smoothly he can flip his hips, he’s dangerous even on routes that start outside his vision. He had a really nice trigger on a comeback against Alabama that led to a pass breakup.
In man, the movement skills really pop. He can mirror at a high level, and his press technique is generally very solid. He played a lot of press in these games and held up well overall. Jeremiah Smith did get him for a 22-yard touchdown where he was able to stack him, and there were maybe two snaps where McCoy just didn’t look fully ready at the snap, but outside of that there were very few clean losses. I remember one other rep where he got a little too heavy on his outside foot and got beat on a slant (I think it was Bernard), but those were the exceptions. What I like is how disciplined he is with his hands—he won’t throw them unless he’s confident he can land them, which helps him stay in phase. Even though he’s not a particularly physical corner, he actually had a couple reps where he was able to bully Ryan Williams a bit and reroute him. There was also a pass interference called against him where Bernard tried to stack him, but it felt more like incidental contact as both guys were fighting for space. He also came away with a great one-handed interception against Alabama.
Against the run he’s fine. He’s not flying downhill looking to blow things up, but he will get involved. He’s more of an ankle-biter as a tackler, but over the course of the two games he made a handful of stops and it didn’t look like a glaring weakness.
TThe biggest takeaway is the movement skills. They’re elite. His ability to mirror in press and flip his hips in zone really separates him. He has the burst and acceleration you want, and his long speed didn’t show up as an issue at all even while playing a lot of press against high-end receivers. The touchdown to Jeremiah Smith was really the only rep where he clearly lost early and got stacked clean. The penalty against Bernard is worth unpacking a bit more because I don’t think it was a rep where he was physically outmatched. It was more a situation where Bernard was trying to stack him vertically, McCoy stayed in phase and fought to maintain position, and both guys ended up getting tangled as they competed for that vertical lane. If anything, it showed that McCoy has the movement skills to stay attached even when he’s not in perfect position and while they threw a penalty cause Barnard fell it was a bad call it should have been incidental contact. Overall, the movement ability is what stands out—it’s a clear differentiator compared to other good corners like Chris Johnson, and it gives him a really high floor in both man and zone.
In zone, what stood out most was how instinctive he is. There really weren’t many bad reps. He consistently showed a good feel for spacing and route concepts, like a nice snap against Ohio State where he took away the sit route in mesh. There were a couple plays where, in hindsight, you might say he overcommitted—one in particular where he drove on a corner route despite having safety help over the top—but for the most part he does a very good job not overreacting to the first thing he sees and opening up something else behind him. If he isn’t threatened, he actively looks for work and understands where routes are developing. There was a cover three rep where he wasn’t challenged on his side and was able to peel off and help on a post, and that wasn’t a one-off—he found ways to impact multiple plays like that. His trigger is quick, and paired with how smoothly he can flip his hips, he’s dangerous even on routes that start outside his vision. He had a really nice trigger on a comeback against Alabama that led to a pass breakup.
In man, the movement skills really pop. He can mirror at a high level, and his press technique is generally very solid. He played a lot of press in these games and held up well overall. Jeremiah Smith did get him for a 22-yard touchdown where he was able to stack him, and there were maybe two snaps where McCoy just didn’t look fully ready at the snap, but outside of that there were very few clean losses. I remember one other rep where he got a little too heavy on his outside foot and got beat on a slant (I think it was Bernard), but those were the exceptions. What I like is how disciplined he is with his hands—he won’t throw them unless he’s confident he can land them, which helps him stay in phase. Even though he’s not a particularly physical corner, he actually had a couple reps where he was able to bully Ryan Williams a bit and reroute him. There was also a pass interference called against him where Bernard tried to stack him, but it felt more like incidental contact as both guys were fighting for space. He also came away with a great one-handed interception against Alabama.
Against the run he’s fine. He’s not flying downhill looking to blow things up, but he will get involved. He’s more of an ankle-biter as a tackler, but over the course of the two games he made a handful of stops and it didn’t look like a glaring weakness.
TThe biggest takeaway is the movement skills. They’re elite. His ability to mirror in press and flip his hips in zone really separates him. He has the burst and acceleration you want, and his long speed didn’t show up as an issue at all even while playing a lot of press against high-end receivers. The touchdown to Jeremiah Smith was really the only rep where he clearly lost early and got stacked clean. The penalty against Bernard is worth unpacking a bit more because I don’t think it was a rep where he was physically outmatched. It was more a situation where Bernard was trying to stack him vertically, McCoy stayed in phase and fought to maintain position, and both guys ended up getting tangled as they competed for that vertical lane. If anything, it showed that McCoy has the movement skills to stay attached even when he’s not in perfect position and while they threw a penalty cause Barnard fell it was a bad call it should have been incidental contact. Overall, the movement ability is what stands out—it’s a clear differentiator compared to other good corners like Chris Johnson, and it gives him a really high floor in both man and zone.
