Highly touted cornerbacks falling in the draft is nothing new. Last year, Michigan’s Will Johnson fell to the second round. This year, it is Tennessee’s Jermod McCoy who is falling, but why is that?
What is Jermod McCoy’s NFL Future?
The last time McCoy played in a college game was on December 21st, 2024. It has been quite a while since he has taken the field. This is due to a major ACL tear that McCoy suffered in his right knee in January 2025.
This caused McCoy to miss the entire 2025 season, but he did run at his pro day, though. During that time, he ran a 4.37-4.39 in the 40-yard dash, which is very impressive given his injury.
However, even with McCoy’s strong pro day run, his injuries are concerning, and there are some very good cornerbacks in this year’s class as well.
The first to go off the board was LSU’s Mansoor Delane. Delane earned the highest grade, an A+, and ranked 1st in PFSN’s College Cornerback Impact Metric.
The Kansas City Chiefs traded up and took Delane at pick No. 6 to replace Trent McDuffie, who they traded away this offseason to the Los Angeles Rams. Additionally, they lost Bryan Cook and Jaylen Watson from their secondary in free agency.
So the Chiefs needed a cornerback badly, so it makes sense that they would not take a chance on McCoy’s injury history.
The second and only other cornerback that was taken in the first round was Chris Johnson by the Miami Dolphins at pick 27. Many had Johnson going in Round 2 or later in the draft. However, looking at PFSN’s grading, Johnson being the second corner is warranted.
Johnson got an A grade and ranked second to PFSN’s CBi. The Dolphins do need a cornerback, so it makes sense they selected Johnson.
A lot of other teams do not need a corner, or at least need it as much, to get it round 1. There are at least 30 cornerbacks who got a B- or higher last year, according to PFSN’s NFL CBi.
BE AN NFL GM: PFSN’s Ultimate GM Simulator
However, whatever team gets McCoy, he will get a great player. According to PFSN’s Scouting Report of McCoy, “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.
“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 over top route breaks.”
“All this, and McCoy’s playmaking might be his most exciting trait; he snagged four INTs in 2024. 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.”
McCoy may have some injury question marks, but he is a really good player when healthy. So, wherever he ends up, even if it is later than expected, McCoy will be there to make a huge impact.
