The NFL Draft is right around the corner as hundreds of collegiate prospects prepare to enter the next stage of their football careers. With time winding down so quickly, we’re seeing new mock drafts drop from different organizations and publications daily. From a Tennessee perspective, all of them are interesting.
Tennessee has three draft prospects who are suspected to be picked in the first three rounds of the draft. Cornerback Jermod McCoy has been a near-first round lock for months now, while cornerback Colton Hood is a fringe late first round/early second round projection. Tennessee wide receiver Chris Brazzell is an intriguing one, with the chance to go in the second round but is more likely a third round pick.
ESPN’s Field Yates dropped his latest mock draft on Tuesday. He’s got McCoy as the first Tennessee player off the board with the 12th overall selection to the Dallas Cowboys. McCoy is the second cornerback off the board behind LSU’s Mansoor Delane at No. 10 to the Bengals.
“One of the true wild cards in this draft is McCoy, as he’s a top-10 talent but has not played or worked out for scouts since an ACL tear in January 2025,” Yates writes. “He is expected to participate in Tennessee’s pro day March 31, which will help solidify this ceiling if he’s healthy. At his best, McCoy is the top coverage cornerback in this class, with exceptional length (77-inch wingspan), ball skills, patience and timing to disrupt wideouts. In a full 2024 season, he had four interceptions and seven passes defensed.”
Tennessee’s upcoming pro day is going to be a vital moment for McCoy’s draft stock. If/when his draft stock fell after not working out at the NFL Combine earlier this month, his pro day in Knoxville will be the final chance to show scouts and NFL teams that he’s ready to go post-injury.
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Hood, meanwhile, is tagged as the first prospect off the board in the second round. As previously mentioned, he’s one of the true fringe players between the first and second round, depending on how the leaves fall around him. Yates has Hood going to the New York Jets with the 33rd overall pick.
“The Jets traded away Sauce Gardner to the Colts last season, a move that was impossible to turn down given the two first-round picks in return,” Yates writes. “Hood is an explosive corner who shows up against the run and brings good ball skills along with his 4.44 speed. He helped Tennessee withstand the absence of Jermod McCoy in 2025, finishing with 10 pass breakups.”
Chris Brazzell is not listed in Yates’ two-round mock draft projections. It’s not entirely that surprising considering the difficulty of projecting picks as the draft goes on, but it is worth noting that Brazzell has seen time as a projected second-round pick in previous mock drafts. It’s fair to suggest that Brazzell could be a third-round pick depending on team needs and the impression he has with teams.
Brazzell was named one of Mel Kiper Jr.’s NFL Combine standouts earlier this month. He wow’d scouts with a blistering 4.37 40-yard dash, which is obviously a great trait to show when you’re a deep threat such as Brazzell. It’s something that Tennessee fans saw a lot in 2025 with his 1,017 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.
The 2026 NFL Draft will begin on Thursday, Apr. 23, in Pittsburgh. Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee football draft coverage.
