Former Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy was by far one of the most talked about players in the entire NFL Draft this past weekend. Whether you’re looking at the hosts and analysts on TV, writers online, or fans on social media, McCoy continued to steal the buzz as many wondered where he would eventually land in the draft.
There’s no doubt that from a talent standpoint, McCoy was one of the top prospects in the entire field. His 2024 tape at Tennessee had analysts gushing over his NFL potential while projecting what he could be down the road. But that was also met with medical red flags as people pondered how big an impact his knee injury may have on his career, whether it be in the short term or the long term.
McCoy told Las Vegas Raiders reporters after the draft that his knee feels fine and he feels good to go overall, but that he’s going to trust his team and the doctors they employ. We’ll see how that unfolds when the Raiders get closer to training camp this summer.
Despite all the questions, there has been plenty of praise for McCoy over the last handful of days. Some of that is coming from ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller.
Miller released a Top 100 list of the top picks, steals, and fits from the NFL Draft this past weekend. He’s got Jermod McCoy ranked as the No. 2 player on the list.
“There’s always a really good player who slips due to injury,” Miller writes. “Ranked as my No. 10 overall prospect, McCoy fell to No. 101 based on concerns that a surgical procedure he had done following a January 2025 ACL tear might need to be redone. But McCoy was cleared to work out at Tennessee’s pro day and excelled with a 40-yard dash time of 4.38 seconds. Las Vegas aggressively attacked its secondary needs, but getting McCoy here could be the weekend’s biggest steal if he’s healthy. It was a smart bet to make and shows that general manager John Spytek is correctly thinking about risk, value and potential.”
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During his 2024 season at Tennessee, McCoy racked up 44 tackles, seven pass deflections, and four interceptions. He was an instrumental piece of Tennessee’s defense that helped lead the program to its first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoffs.
But as impressive as McCoy’s landing spot on Miller’s list is, it’s equally confusing how fellow Tennessee cornerback Colton Hood didn’t make the cut for one of the Top 100 picks.
Hood went 37th overall to the Giants, which has widely been proclaimed as a steal in the draft, considering many of his first-round projections leading into the event last weekend. Hood was the third cornerback taken overall, which is an impressive position to snatch early in the second round. Plus, for a team like New York that needed the help in the secondary, Hood gives the Giants a legitimate potential starter on the outside when the team faces off against stout NFC East receivers like CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, DeVonta Smith, Makai Lemon, and Terry McLaurin.
During his lone season in Knoxville, Hood tallied 50 total tackles, eight pass deflections, one interception (TD), and one fumble recovery (TD).
It’s not the end of the world by any stretch, but there’s certainly an argument that landing the third cornerback in the draft, who was projected by many as a first-round pick, in Day 2 is a pretty good steal.
Check out Matt Miller’s full list for ESPN here.
