The big story coming out of the first day of the NFL Draft – from a Tennessee perspective, at least – is the status of UT cornerbacks Jermod McCoy and Colton Hood. Both McCoy and Hood fell out of the first round on Thursday night in Pittsburgh, but are expected to be part of the news wire during Friday’s second and third rounds.
But while UT fans’ eyes will be on McCoy and Hood’s landing spots early in the night, there’s another big storyline that’ll begin to manifest as the picks go on. This could be the night that Tennessee wide receiver Chris Brazzell hears his name called, as well.
McCoy and Hood are projected to go early in the second round. Brazzell, meanwhile, is projected to go late in the third round. It’s been the most common prediction throughout the pre-draft process and remains in the same territory after the first round of action.
On Friday morning, ESPN’s Matt Miller released his second and third-round mock draft for Friday’s event in Pittsburgh. He’s tagged Brazzell to go 97th overall to the Minnesota Vikings, which is the fourth-to-last pick of the third round. As we know from McCoy and Hood’s night on Thursday, though, those fringe picks could go in any direction. Perhaps Brazzell is taken earlier or at his projection, but there’s always a chance he could fall to the fourth round on Saturday if things don’t unfold the right way.
More From RTI: Tennessee’s Jermod McCoy and Colton Hood Projected to be Early Second Round Picks on Friday
Brazzell played his first two seasons at Tulane before transferring to Tennessee ahead of the 2024 season. He only produced 333 yards and two touchdowns during his first season in Knoxville, but then broke out as one of the SEC’s best pass-catchers in 2025. With Joey Aguilar as the Vols’ quarterback, Brazzell racked up 1,017 yards and nine touchdowns on 62 receptions. He had the second-most receiving yards in the SEC last season.
Brazzell didn’t just produce against lower-tier competition, either. His best game of the season came against No. 6 Georgia, when he recorded 177 yards and three touchdowns on six catches. He also posted 125 yards against ETSU, 138 yards against Kentucky, and 105 yards against Mississippi State.
But while Brazzell has all the tools on the field, there have been some concerns. Just a few days before the draft, Adam Schefter released some new intel that gave perspective on Brazzell’s draft status.
“Many teams say Tennessee’s Chris Brazzell II has elite talents that rival (Jordyn) Tyson — one general manager even compared him with George Pickens — but there are even more questions about his maturity,” Schefter wrote.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for full NFL draft coverage this weekend.
