Jermod McCoy missed his entire junior season at Tennessee after suffering an ACL tear last offseason. His sophomore tape was so good, however, that he’s still coming out in the 2026 NFL Draft and expected to come off the board in the first round.
How early in the first round? Well, that answer seems to be changing after his stellar Pro Day performance on Tuesday. After opting not to participate in the NFL Combine, McCoy ran a 4.38 40-yard dash with a 38-inch vertical jump and a 10-foot-7 broad jump.
If he’s not at 100 percent over a year removed from that knee injury, he’s certainly close to it. And his draft stock is likely going to reflect that. CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli did in his latest NFL Mock Draft on Wednesday morning, with McCoy coming off the board at No. 12 overall to the Dallas Cowboys as the No. 2 cornerback in the class, just two picks behind LSU’s Mansoor Delane.
Jermod McCoy inching up near the top 10 in recent mock drafts
This draft isn’t necessarily loaded with blue-chip talent and much of the blue-chip players at the top of the draft, are on the defensive side of the football. Still, even edge rushers like Rueben Bain Jr., David Bailey, and Arvell Reese have significant question marks. That relative uncertainty at the top of the draft could entice teams picking on the cusp of the top 10, like Dallas, which desperately needs defensive back help, to take a swing on McCoy based entirely on his sophomore year tape.
It’s also worth remembering that McCoy wasn’t just good two years ago on Tennessee’s College Football Playoff defense. He was one of the best defensive players in the country. The Oregon State transfer was a lockdown corner and displayed impressive ball skills, finishing the year with seven pass breakups and four interceptions. Had he been able to come out after that season without the injury concerns lingering, he may have been a lock for the top 10 in last year’s class, and certainly would have been in this somewhat underwhelming draft class.
Delane was elite in his one season at LSU after transferring from Virginia Tech. With a clean bill of health, he deserves to come off the board ahead of McCoy, but McCoy’s workout reiterated that he has the highest ceiling in this class and proved that his injury is a long way in the rear-view.