Jermod McCoy's 2026 NFL Draft journey is going to last three days, despite that fact that many experts and analysts expected the Tennessee cornerback to be drafted in the first round.
But after no team handed in a draft card for McCoy during the second or third round April 24, the 2024 All-American slipped into the third day of the proceedings.
Were it not for a knee injury that cost him the 2025 college football season, McCoy would have likely been ranked the first or second cornerback in the class – and was by most in the industry regardless of his health.
But NFL front offices did not agree with the risk assessment and McCoy remains up for grabs as the fourth round begins April 25 at 12 p.m. ET.
A torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) suffered in January 2025 kept McCoy out of commission for all of last season and clouded his pre-draft process.
But in a stellar pro day showing in March, the 6-1, 188-pound corner reminded scouts and general managers why he could live up to the hype of a top-tier cover man. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.37 seconds, which would've tied for the second-fastest time among cornerbacks at the NFL scouting combine.
USA TODAY Sports draft analyst Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz wrote: "With superlative ball skills and ample tools to stick with receivers throughout their routes, McCoy can grow into a standout in any defensive scheme."
McCoy was ranked 11th in Middlehurst-Schwartz's original "best players available" list.
ESPN's Adam Schefter said McCoy is "clearly a first-round talent" but that the knee is a concern for teams.
"People think he can step in and impact a roster right away, but there are questions about his longevity in the league," Schefter reported during the second round. "For right now, we have a situation where he's still on the board, one of the elite talents in this draft in a spot that nobody thought he would be."
Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer compared the situation to what Will Johnson, the former Michigan cornerback who fell to the Arizona Cardinals in the second round of the 2025 draft, experience. Like McCoy, the larger concern with Johnson was longevity and not whether the player would be ready for the upcoming season.
NFL Network reported on April 20 that the torn ACL was less of a concern than a bone plug used to repair cartilage in the knee.
"I thought maybe Jermod McCoy would fall to the Will Johnson range (47 overall)," ESPN NFL draft analyst Matt Miller wrote on social media. "This is just bizarre. Especially if the concern is more long-term than short-term."
I thought maybe Jermod McCoy would fall to the Will Johnson range (47 overall). This is just bizarre. Especially if the concern is more long-term than short-term.
Breer added that most teams expected McCoy to fall out of the first round.
Falling to Day 3 is much more severe type of descent down the board.
McCoy's Tennessee counterpart, cornerback Colton Hood, went 37th overall to the New York Giants.
McCoy remains the best player available on the big boards of both ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. and Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network.
“Really could have easily been a top 10 pick, it’s a shame he’s still there,” Kiper said.
Contributing: Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz; Adam Sparks, Knoxville News