Jermod McCoy will likely hear his name called early in the 2026 NFL Draft, and it's a question of when — not if — he'll be selected.The Tennessee cornerback missed the entire 2025 season after tearing his ACL while training in the offseason. The second-team All-SEC selection in 2024 is fully back, however, and ran a blazing 4.37-second 40-yard dash at his Tennessee pro day after skipping the NFL Scouting Combine.REQUIRED READING: 2026 NFL mock draft: What Dexter Lawrence trade might mean for Giants, first roundThere are questions about his longevity, though, at least according to some reports.
He could still be the first cornerback selected anyway, with LSU's Mansoor Delane and Vols teammate Colton Hood also contending for the honor.McCoy finished his last healthy season with 44 total tackles, seven pass deflections and four interceptions after transferring from Oregon State, where he played in 2023.Here's what to know of McCoy's injury before the 2026 NFL Draft:Jermod McCoy injuryMcCoy tore his ACL in his right knee during an offseason workout in January 2025, shortly after Tennessee's College Football Playoff loss to Ohio State at the end of the 2024 season. The injury caused him to miss the entire 2025 season, although his draft stock was still high enough for him to be a likely first-round pick despite not playing in over a year.He skipped the NFL Scouting Combine but participated in Tennessee's Pro Day.
He put most skepticism about his readiness to bed, running a 4.37-second 40-yard dash with a 38-inch vertical jump on March 31.“It looked like Jermod out there,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said after McCoy's testing numbers. “He did a great job testing, which we all anticipated. It’s great to see him back at 100 percent.”Jermod McCoy NFL draft stockWhile McCoy's testing numbers at his Tennessee pro day were strong, a recent report suggested teams may view McCoy similarly to former Michigan cornerback Will Johnson, who fell to No. 47 overall in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft.Johnson was a two-time All-American and a top-rated defensive prospect before his medicals popped as a concern for some teams, causing him to fall out of the first round."Every team I’ve talked to—every last one of them—has said that the knee he tore up in January 2025 remains a major concern," Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer reported April 20.Breer added: "Without getting into all the ins and outs of the medicals, the question isn’t whether he’ll be ready to go when he joins his new team next week.
It’s more centered on his longevity, making his case similar to—maybe a little worse than—Will Johnson’s last year."ESPN NFL Draft expert Matt Miller, meanwhile, said teams he talked to believe McCoy is back in the running as the first cornerback off the board following his pro day performance."The feedback I received from teams was that McCoy is back in the running for CB1," Miller wrote. "There were some questions even from the morning of the workout about what drills he would participate in. But he did everything, including positional drills."USA TODAY has McCoy going No. 24 overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars in our latest NFL mock draft.This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Jermod McCoy injury: Will Tennessee CB slide in NFL draft?