ESPN insider drops interesting new intel about where former Tennessee Vols CB Colton Hood could be selected in the 2026 NFL Draft
Former Tennessee Vols cornerback Colton Hood is expected to be an early round selection in the 2026 NFL Draft. There’s a good chance that Hood,in fact, will be a first round pick in the draft.
Former Tennessee Vols cornerback Colton Hood has been regularly mocked as a late first round selection in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Hood, who started his career at Auburn before transferring to Colorado, developed into a star player during his lone season at Tennessee.
The Georgia native arrived at Tennessee as an insurance policy for Vols cornerback Jermod McCoy, who entered the 2025 season as a question mark due to the torn ACL he suffered early last year.
With McCoy sidelined, and Tennessee’s other starting cornerback Rickey Gibson suffering a season-ending injury before halftime of the season-opener, it forced Hood into the CB1 role for the Vols in 2025.
And he thrived in that role, totaling 50 tackles, a pick-six, and a fumble returned for a touchdown.
Colton Hood could be selected before Jermod McCoy in the 2026 NFL Draft
McCoy, who missed the entire 2025 season with a torn ACL, has been regularly mocked as a top-10 to top-15 selection in the 2026 NFL Draft this offseason.
A new report about McCoy’s health that popped up this week, however, could lead to Hood being selected ahead of McCoy.
“I’ve heard there’s a chance Tennessee’s Colton Hood could be the second cornerback taken, behind Delane and ahead of Volunteers teammate Jermod McCoy,” reported ESPN’s Dan Graziano on Wednesday. “There are teams wary of the condition of McCoy’s knee and could shy away. Multiple people have compared it to former Michigan cornerback Will Johnson’s situation last year, as he was a first-round talent who fell into Day 2 due to health concerns. Johnson ended up playing well as a rookie for the Cardinals anyway.”
It’s unclear how serious the concerns about McCoy’s knee are as the timing of the report (a few days before the draft) is a bit fishy.
“I know this: McCoy went through the medical stuff at the NFL Combine, and said he was cleared to play and chose not to because he didn’t feel comfortable or ready to play in November here at Tennessee,” said VolQuest’s Brent Hubbs this week. “And then he went out and did everything at his pro day and ran a [good 40 yard dash] time. I don’t know where the medical stuff is coming from this late for him, or why anybody would question that. I still think he’s going to be the first Tennessee player taken in the draft. I think he’s going to be taken in the first round.”
“I don’t see the red flags with him at this point in time,” added Hubbs. “Now, I could be wrong — something could pop up here. But I just don’t see a whole lot of stock in that one report that everybody seems to be sort of gravitating to.”
We’ll see on Night 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft just how concerned teams are about McCoy’s knee and whether they have Hood higher on their draft board.