NFL insider pulls back the curtain on how teams viewed Tennessee CB Jermod McCoy during the 2026 NFL Draft
The latest intel on what NFL teams were thinking about the former Vol sheds some light on his shocking drop to the draft’s third day.
The drop of Tennessee CB Jermod McCoy in the 2026 NFL Draft was one of the storylines of the league’s premier offseason event.
Once thought to be a first-round lock, the former Vols cornerback found himself sliding further and further down the draft. By the time the second of three days were gone, he remained on the board.
His slide emphasized just how much concern teams had about his knee. NFL insider Tom Pelissero said days before the draft that a bone plug used to help repair a cartilage defect in his knee was the primary source of concern, not his ACL, which he tore in January 2025. The worry is that another surgery might be needed, which could require a lengthy recovery.
As it turns out, the knee was enough to take him off of some teams’ draft boards entirely. ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler reported on Thursday that of the eight teams he spoke with after the draft, five had completely taken him off their draft boards.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said 5 of 8 teams he spoke with had Jermod McCoy off their draft boards
“After Day 2 of the draft, I checked with eight teams about Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy with a simple question: ‘Is he off your board?’” Fowler wrote. “Medical concerns with his surgically repaired knee caused the top-10-to-12 talent to slide dramatically. Five said yes to the question; three said no. Las Vegas did extensive homework on the injury, and, at least as of now, the team is optimistic about his chances to play in 2026 and avoid a redshirt season or immediate surgery. Perhaps he needs a procedure sometime in the future, but the team is hopeful he can avoid that in the short term, with the caveat that it must get him in the building for the offseason program and see how he’s progressing.”
It’s pretty eye opening that a first round talent would be off the board alt0gether, particularly when you get down into the later rounds. After all, many late round picks never end up sticking with a team once 53-man cutdowns are complete.
McCoy, if he’s healthy enough to stay on the field, is almost surely going to be a contributor at the NFL level. It’s just a matter of how much you’re willing to gamble losing as a draft pick if things go south for his knee.
Ironically enough, Las Vegas was willing to make that bet. We’ll find out starting this fall if it was a winning one.
