Jermod McCoy was the projected CB1 of the 2026 NFL Draft as recently as Monday. On Thursday night, he watched Round 1 come and go without hearing his name called. Two cornerbacks were drafted in the first round, but McCoy was not one of them. LSU’s Mansoor Delane went at No. 6 to the Kansas City Chiefs, and San Diego State’s Chris Johnson went to the Miami Dolphins at No. 27. McCoy is still on the board heading into Day 2, and he’s PFSN’s highest-rated player remaining.
Where Will Jermod McCoy Be Drafted? Round 2 Range With Saints in Play
PFSN’s Jacob Infante has McCoy going to the New Orleans Saints at No. 42 overall in his Day 2 and 3 mock.
“Jermod McCoy didn’t play a down in 2025 due to injury, so while he fell because of his torn ACL, his 2024 tape and Pro Day testing were both elite,” Infante wrote. “He’s an athletic defensive back with excellent ball-tracking skills who mirrors movements well in coverage and plays with a scrappy mentality in press coverage; there’s a lot to like in his tape.”
The industry has converged on a similar range. ESPN’s Matt Miller has McCoy going to the New York Giants at No. 37 overall, writing that McCoy “ranked as my No. 10 overall prospect in the class based off film study, but questions surrounding the long-term health of his knee following an ACL injury in January 2025 caused him to slip.”
The fall happened late and was driven by new information. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported during draft week that the ACL itself is healed, but a bone plug used to repair a cartilage defect in McCoy’s knee has some team doctors concerned that a second surgery may be needed. Pelissero called McCoy “a top 10 talent who potentially may not go that high. May not even go in round one.” That reporting proved accurate.
The precedent is fresh. Michigan cornerback Will Johnson entered the 2025 NFL Draft with similar knee injury concerns. He was a projected top-10 pick. He was taken at No. 47 by the Arizona Cardinals in Round 2. McCoy’s slide is tracking the same pattern.
Jermod McCoy Scouting Report: CB1 Talent on the Board in Round 2
PFSN’s Ian Cummings graded McCoy as the clear CB1 of the 2026 class before the medical concerns hit.
“Jermod McCoy is a frontrunner to challenge for the CB1 mantle in the 2026 NFL Draft, in spite of missing the entire 2025 season amidst his recovery from a torn ACL,” Cummings wrote. “At 5’11”, 193 pounds, McCoy doesn’t quite have the desired size profile. But at his size, McCoy has solid proportional length, to go along with elite explosiveness, long-strider acceleration on the attack, and hyper-elite hip fluidity, deceleration, and malleability on transitions.”
Cummings framed the complete coverage profile. “He’s an instant closer off his plant-and-drive, and a fleet-footed and fluid short-area mover with easy matching athleticism. In press, he can stay square and dictate releases with physicality, and he’s a smooth mover in zone with tremendous throttle control, vision, and reactive coil overtop route breaks. All this, and McCoy’s playmaking might be his most exciting trait; he snagged four INTs in 2024.”
The scouting report ends with a prospect comp that reads differently now than it did a week ago. “McCoy’s medical checks will be key, but if those prove sound, he’s a complete, scheme-versatile cover man and a turnover generator in the mold of Darius Slay.”
The 2024 production backs the evaluation. McCoy transferred from Oregon State to Tennessee ahead of the 2024 season and recorded 44 tackles, 4 interceptions, and 9 pass breakups while allowing 1 touchdown pass on 640 coverage snaps. He was a First-Team All-SEC selection and a Second-Team AP All-American as a sophomore.
The rehab arc went clean right up until the week of the draft. McCoy tore his ACL in mid-January 2025 during an offseason workout at his home in Texas, less than a month after Tennessee’s loss to Ohio State in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
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He missed the entire 2025 season. At his March 31 Pro Day, he ran a 4.37-4.38 40-yard dash in his first full-speed public sprint since the injury, added a 38-inch vertical and a 10-foot-7 broad jump, and worked through on-field drills without restriction.
The Pro Day was supposed to lock in the Round 1 grade. Then the bone plug concerns landed.
Teams picking on Day 2 now have a choice. Either they can stay away from the medical risk, or they can take the same bet the Cardinals took on Will Johnson a year ago, and the same bet team doctors are still split on: that the player who graded as a top-10 talent returns to the field as that player.
PFSN’s best available player after Round 1 is sitting there for whichever team is willing.
