Mel Kiper Jr. is the most recognizable name in NFL Draft analysis. Love him or hate him, you’re reading his mock drafts. He’s built a career on bold takes, stirring debate, and occasionally ruffling feathers when fans don’t agree with where he slots their favorite players. Polarizing? Absolutely. But whether people think he’s spot-on or completely off base, one thing is undeniable it's that he draws eyeballs every single year.
In his latest NFL mock draft, Tennessee fans might not like where he has some of their stars drafted. He has Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy going No. 13 overall to the Los Angeles Rams. This would be a great landing spot for him, as LA is a win-now team that needs help at cornerback. No complaints here. The only thing that may ruffle some feathers is that he is the second cornerback drafted behind LSU's Mansoor Delane, who gets drafted No. 12 overall to Dallas.
Where fans will push back is that Colton Hood wasn't mentioned in his latest mock draft. Hood, by all accounts, had a great Senior Bowl showing and had great production in the SEC last fall. Plus, Chris Brazzell II wasn't mentioned despite being picked in the last mock that Kiper did, going to Buffalo to play with NFL MVP Josh Allen.
No Colton Hood or Chris Brazzell in ESPN's latest mock draft
This proves one thing and one thing only, and it's that Hood and Brazzell need to show out at the NFL Combine this week. The combine has a reputation for making or breaking a prospect’s draft stock, and a strong performance could be the difference between climbing to the first-round or sliding down to day two.
We still have a ton of time until April's draft, and a lot can happen, but Tennessee does have the potential to have three players selected on Thursday of the NFL Draft.