Former Tennessee Vols cornerback Jermod McCoy fell to the fourth round of the 2026 NFL Draft despite being projected as a top 15 pick for most of the offseason.

McCoy, who missed the 2025 season due to a torn ACL, was selected by the Las Vegas Raiders with the No. 101 overall pick after he fell due to concerns that he could require second surgery on his knee.

The former Vol, though, says his knee is healthy, but he’s going to follow the advice of the Raiders.

“All of my doctors that did my surgery told me I’m good,” said McCoy on Saturday. “But if there’s something [the Raiders] want me to do for the longevity of my career, I’m willing to do that because I feel like they have my best interest. So honestly, just whatever the team’s plan for me is, I’m gonna do that.”

What some Vols fans are saying about Jermod McCoy is very unfair

After McCoy went unselected on the first two days of the draft, there was quite a bit of noise on social media about the former Vol’s decision to not return to the field last season.

McCoy was cleared at some point last fall, but he didn’t feel comfortable enough to return to game action.

Some fans are suggesting that not playing last season is why he slid in this year’s draft. Some of those same fans also think McCoy should’ve stayed another year at Tennessee to help his draft stock.

And that simply isn’t accurate.

Playing last season probably would’ve had a positive impact on McCoy’s draft stock — as long as he performed well — but it wouldn’t have changed that there are concerns that he’ll need a second surgery due to the reported bone plug issue.

Staying another season at Tennessee wouldn’t have changed a single thing with the concerns about McCoy’s longterm health. McCoy, after all, impressed scouts at his Pro Day in March. If MRI and X-ray machines didn’t exist, McCoy would’ve been a top 15 pick this week.

So, this has nothing to do with playing or not playing last season. McCoy was dealt a bad hand. His injury, based on reports, was a bit more complex than most ACL injuries. It’s unfortunate for the former Tennessee standout.

Hopefully McCoy stays healthy for his entire career and never needs that second surgery. And hopefully fans stop throwing shade at him for not playing last season while recovering from a torn ACL.

By the way, I don’t know why anyone is surprised that McCoy didn’t play last season. I wrote in early 2025, just days after the injury happened, that there was a very good chance he wouldn’t play during the 2025 season.

It’s fairly common for high-level cornerbacks to miss almost an entire year while recovering from a torn ACL.

Green Bay Packers Pro Bowl cornerback Trevon Diggs, for example, tore his ACL on September 21, 2023 (he was still with the Dallas Cowboys at the time). Diggs wasn’t cleared to return to practice until July 31, 2024 — 10 months after suffering the torn ACL. 

The former Alabama standout was then “eased” back into action before taking the field for the Cowboys in Week One of the 2024 NFL season (September 8 — 353 days after suffering the torn ACL). 

If McCoy suffered his injury in early January, then the Diggs timeline would put him back on the field in late December 2025.

For some reason, some fans think a 20-year-old cornerback should be on a different recovery timeline than a Pro Bowl cornerback.

People really forget sometimes that these players are real human beings and not soulless robots.