The off-season buzz around Jermod McCoy is continuing to grow.
After a dominant first season with Tennessee and second in college, McCoy is landing on multiple early draft boards for the 2026 slate.
After being named the No. 15 pick in PFF's mock draft, ESPN had the Vols corner going even higher.
TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM
Where ESPN has McCoy drafted
In ESPN's first round mock draft for the 2026 NFL Draft, McCoy is projected to go 14th overall to the Miami Dolphins.
This makes him the second defensive back and first corner taken off the board. Safety Caleb Downs out of Ohio State is ahead of him at pick five to the Browns.
Behind McCoy, corners A.J. Harris out of Penn State is at No. 16, DJ McKinney out of Colorado sits at No. 24, Avieon Terrell out of Clemson is slotted at No. 27 and Malik Muhammed out of Texas comes in at No. 30.
McCoy at pick No. 14 is also the sixth-highest mark of any SEC player and third from a defender in the conference.
If he was to go that high, it'd be the highest selection of a Tennessee player since Darnell Wright went 10th overall in the 2023 draft to the Bears. It'd also make consecutive first round picks from the Vols' defense.
What ESPN said about McCoy
"With Jalen Ramsey on the trade block, the Dolphins need young defensive backs," wrote Jordan Reid in the ESPN article. "McCoy makes plenty of sense here as an active, physical corner. He exhibits great awareness and has a quick read on routes run in his coverage. He had four interceptions and eight pass breakups last season, so the ball skills are there, too. McCoy could be CB1 next year if his game continues to ascend."
McCoy's breakout year
McCoy began his career at Oregon State. As a true freshman that was underrecruited, he played in 12 games and started five. In that time, he led the team with nine passes defended to go with seven pass breakups, two interceptions and 31 tackles.
Afterward, he entered the transfer portal and made his way to Tennessee. In Knoxville, he showed the qualities of a star defensive back early in his tenure.
After starting in all 13 games, McCoy notched 13 passes defended with nine pass breakups and four interceptions. This gave him a tie for the SEC lead in interceptions.
His four picks were the most since Nigel Warrior grabbed four in the 2019 season.
Memorable interceptions from his first season in orange included a one-handed snag in the end zone against Alabama and grab at Vanderbilt after a deflection.
From two-star to possible first rounder
McCoy was a two-star recruit out of high school. He went to Whitehouse High School in Whitehouse, Texas, the same school Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes attended.
Listed as an athlete, McCoy chose Oregon State with limited offers. He also had chances to attend Air Force, Alcorn State, Army, Columbia, Georgetown, Lamar, Louisiana Tech, Louisiana-Monroe, Northern Arizona, Northwestern State, Penn, Sam Houston State and Tulane.
He also received interested from Baylor, Duke and Texas but did not receive a scholarship offer from any of those schools.
– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.
– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.
– SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @ByNoahTaylor, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media.
