Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy is heading to the NFL Draft and, in all likelihood, will be a first-round pick by a team this spring. In fact, he could even go as high as a Top 15 pick despite missing the entire 2025 season as he recovered from an ACL tear that happened in January 2024.
That’s the big question around McCoy, though. While the talent is there and then some, is he healthy enough to contribute to a team right away? Will it take some time for him to return to the field? These are the questions that scouts will mull over between now and the NFL Draft with a stop at the combine in between.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. has McCoy as his top cornerback in the cycle and the No. 14 overall player. ESPN’s Field Yates, meanwhile, has McCoy as the second-ranked cornerback on his list, behind LSU’s Mansoor Delane.
“McCoy didn’t play in 2025 after suffering a torn ACL in January, but he still has the chance to be the first cornerback off the board in April,” Kiper wrote. “He began his college career at Oregon State, picking off two passes there in 2023. McCoy’s ball-hawking traits really emerged once transferring to Tennessee, as he picked off four passes and broke up nine in 2024. His on-the-ball production will get Day 1 interest.”
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Dallas Cowboys beat reporter and draft analyst Bobby Belt broke down McCoy and Delane on Friday’s episode of Shan & RJ on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. After studying the tape, Belt declared the two as the most pro-ready cornerbacks in the draft class.
“If you wanted to say, alright, let me get the most competent, ready to go, starting corners possible, in this draft, I think there are realistically two options for, that guy is in all likelihood a starting quality corner right out of the gate,” Belt said about McCoy and Delane.
Belt began with McCoy, who was recently projected to go to the Dallas Cowboys late in the first round by ESPN’s Jordan Reid in early January.
“I think he’s so good,” Belt said. “Like, when you look at his tape, the things he did on tape were ridiculous at Tennessee in 2024. He was one of the better pro-ready corners you’ve ever seen, and he did all of that at 19 years old. He was a teenager when he just absolutely was one of the best corners in the country. He gets an offseason injury, he tears his ACL.”
Belt also noted that it’s hard for him to see McCoy escaping to the second round at this point in time.
“He won’t get to the second round,” Belt said. “It’s just a matter of, do you wanna – because some team will take him and just go, like, ‘We’ll stash him then.’ He’s allegedly going to be ready to play. But it’s just been so few updates. He’s been out for a full year. It’s a lot.”
During McCoy’s 2024 season with the Vols, he racked up 44 total tackles, four interceptions, and four pass deflections while covering the SEC’s top wideouts. McCoy’s presence on the outside helped Tennessee produce one of the best defenses in the country during a run to the College Football Playoffs.
When Tennessee began fall camp workouts in August 2025, head coach Josh Heupel said there was no timetable for his return. But on Aug. 8, McCoy hit the practice field for some light drills with his position group. He wasn’t wearing a large knee brace, but also wasn’t doing anything too significant in the drills. It was hard to get a read on the situation because of the allotted time that the media was allowed to view practice. Once the season began, the media were not allowed to view practice, so it was unclear what he continued to do or not do over the next few months.
We’ll know more about McCoy’s standing with NFL teams as the draft process begins to unfold following the season, but it is believed that he’s well-regarded as a cornerback prospect by analysts in the media.
McCoy is a six-foot cornerback from Whitehouse, TX.
