WALDRON GRAIN & FUEL

04/25 15:09 CDT Raiders start last day of NFL draft by taking Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy in rainy Pittsburgh Raiders start last day of NFL draft by taking Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy in rainy Pittsburgh By WILL GRAVES AP National Writer PITTSBURGH (AP) --- Jermod McCoy's lengthy wait to hear his name called at the NFL draft came to a quick end on Saturday. The Las Vegas Raiders selected the Tennessee cornerback with the first pick of the fourth round, taking a small gamble that McCoy will return to form after missing all of last season with a torn ACL. McCoy had six interceptions in 25 games with the Volunteers and Oregon State, where he began his college career in 2023 before transferring to Tennessee. He injured the knee during offseason workouts in January 2025, not long after the Vols lost in the College Football Playoff. "I was prepared for whatever happened, but, I mean, I would've been excited to go higher, for sure, because, I mean, I had a good pro day, ran some good times and just did good things like that," McCoy said. "But, I mean, I was prepared for whatever happened. Because, I mean, it's not in my control." The Raiders are hoping McCoy can help a defense that failed to generate takeaways with much consistency during a miserable 3-14 season in 2025. Las Vegas had just eight interceptions in 17 games last season, 25th in the 32-team league. The pick also reunites McCoy --- in a way at least --- with top overall pick Fernando Mendoza. McCoy's first career collegiate interception came against Mendoza while McCoy was at Oregon State and Mendoza was playing at California. "It was probably one of the top moments in my life, my first college pick," McCoy said. "We talked after that game too, just chopped it up a little bit ... We got the best quarterback in college football and now going to be the best in the league." McCoy added that watching the first three rounds pass by without being selected will "fuel" him as he looks to regain the form that had him on a first-round trajectory before the injury. "I feel like I learned about myself, it's just like, I feel like I'm super mentally strong," he said. "I feel I've just been through a lot. I got a story that I'm still trying to tell." McCoy isn't the only one. Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik, who began his last season with the Tigers with Heisman Trophy and national title hopes, only to endure a nightmarish fall in which Clemson went 7-6, went to the New York Jets with the 110th pick. The fanfare of Thursday night's opening round --- replete with a walk down the red carpet for the top prospects who will be tasked to be contributors very quickly --- was long gone by Saturday. Perhaps no player had a more symbolic experience on what Day 3 is like than Iowa wide receiver Kaden Wetjen, taken by the host Steelers in the fourth round. There was no draft party for Wetjen. No camera set up in his family's living room to capture the moment. Instead, Wetjen went golfing while his parents headed to the Drake Relays to watch his younger brother compete. "So, the plan was to kind of text everybody after I got the information and have everybody over tonight," Wetjen said. "So thankfully it happened earlier than we expected, and I didn't shank it into the pond after I got picked, so everything's going good." The fifth round included Ohio State defensive back Lorenzo Styles Jr., following brother Sonny --- selected seventh overall by Washington on Thursday --- into the pros when he was taken by New Orleans. The final day of the league's offseason festival began with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell telling the rain-soaked fans outside Acrisure Stadium that Pittsburgh had set a record for attendance on Thursday and Friday, with more than 600,000 people packing themselves into the city's North Shore and nearby Point State Park. The record for attendance during the entirety of the draft is 775,000, set by Detroit in 2025. That mark appeared in jeopardy even on a day that began with a soft but steady rain, though the Pittsburgh visitor's bureau did send out an email Saturday afternoon saying a late surge might be required to make history. Then again, many in attendance didn't need to look far to get their hands on the yellow Terrible Towels that have long been fixtures at games of the hometown Steelers. All four of the club's Day 2 picks made their way to the stage tucked in the stadium's northeast parking lot, including former Penn State quarterback Drew Allar, who was a somewhat surprising third-round selection. "I'm really excited," Allar said. "Enjoyed my four years at Penn State ... But I'm really excited to represent Steeler fans and Steeler nation and really win a lot of games." That part might not come right away. Allar joins a quarterback room that includes veteran Mason Rudolph and former Ohio State star Will Howard, a sixth-round choice by the Steelers in 2025. And that doesn't include Aaron Rodgers, who very well could rejoin the club at some point before preparations for the 2026 season turn serious. ___ AP Sports Writer Mark Anderson in Las Vegas contributed to this report. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl