Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy falling to No. 32 has looked impossible for the entire 2026 NFL Draft Cycle, but his medical history might put him in play for the Seattle Seahawks at the last minute.
McCoy has long been seen as a top-tier corner prospect in this draft and would go top-15 if he had played in 2025, but a torn ACL kept him out for the entire season. Just this week, Tom Pelissero reported that he might need another surgery on a “bone plug used to repair a cartilage defect in his knee”, which would keep him out for an extended period of the 2026 season.
It’s worth mentioning that this news coming out on draft week could be more than a coincidence. Teams play mind games with the information they release to reporters, especially in the days and hours near the draft- with the goal of shifting other teams’ perception for themselves to take advantage of.
Pelissero even mentions that with 32 teams and 32 different doctors, not all of them will see McCoy’ injuries the same way. Regardless of the level of risk, there’s no team better primed to take the shot at his upside than Seattle.
If they get a healthy McCoy at any point this season (or even next), it would be one of the best draft additions coming off a Super Bowl win in recent memory. Even a year before being draft-eligible, his 2024 film is the best of any corner in this class (if not 1A-1B with Mansoor Delane). The new surgery he supposedly requires would likely take time to heal, but isn’t career altering after the fact.
Jermod McCoy This would be a potentially significant surgery and would likely knock them out for the entire year.The expert at doing these is Dr. Dan Cooper, who happens to be the team doctor for the Dallas CowboysSeveral NFL players have had their surgery and have had very… https://t.co/0Twkzol0wg
In McCoy’s absence, fellow Tennessee CB Colton Hood stepped up to have a first-round caliber season. Hood has received all the speculation about being drafted to Seattle, but McCoy’s fall has opened the door for Hood to go top-20 to what were the likely McCoy suitors before this news. If Hood’s not available, would the Seahawks draft McCoy?
In spite of the medicals that scared other potential suitors off in the first round, a healthy McCoy is worth the risk. While he can’t play, they’ll be just fine rolling with Josh Jobe, as they would be if they didn’t take a cornerback at all. But when he does return, he has the upside to be as good of a player as Devon Witherspoon and Nick Emmanwori- somehow making Seattle’s “Dark Side” defense even scarier.
This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Seahawks could land mega-talented Tennessee CB Jermod McCoy