Background

Jermod McCoy was born on August 16, 2005, in Tyler, Texas, and attended Whitehouse High School in Whitehouse, where he played both cornerback and wide receiver. As a senior, he posted 28 tackles and 2 interceptions on defense and 57 receptions for 784 yards and 8 touchdowns on offense. A three-star recruit, he committed to Oregon State and played in all 12 games with 5 starts as a true freshman in 2023, recording 31 tackles and 2 interceptions. He transferred to Tennessee and became a star player in 2024. He recorded 44 tackles, 4 interceptions, and 10 pass deflections in 14 games. This performance made him one of the top defensive backs in the SEC and caught the attention of NFL scouts, who saw him as a future top-15 draft choice. During an offseason workout in January 2025, he tore his ACL and subsequently missed the entire 2025 season. Despite not testing at the Combine, he impressed at his private pro day workout shortly before the draft, alleviating concerns about his knee. He will turn just 20 years old before the 2026 season. He declared for the 2026 NFL Draft.

Physical Attributes

As stated above, McCoy did not test at the combine but did a workout at his pro day where he put up those numbers. Has great overall speed work: acceleration, deceleration, and long-speed. Not the strongest player, he struggles with more physical receivers and blockers. Fluid in space, can flip his hips and change directions with ease. He also finds it really easy to be going full speed in a back pedal, and then hit his back foot and drive the opposite direction in an instant.

Data and Tape Analysis

If you are unfamiliar with my CB radar charts, you can find more information here

Having missed the entire 2025 season, we have to go off McCoy's 2024 season that he played at 19 years old, while helping Tennessee make the College Football Playoff. So knowing that he was 19, and the radar chart already looked like that; its very impressive.

McCoy has better zone instincts than man coverage ability, but both are very good. In zone, one of my favorite traits of his is his hedging between routes. If there are two players near his zone, he finds a near perfect spot between the two to muddy the picture for the QB. That usually means shading a bit more towards the deeper player to limit explosive plays. Then when the QB goes underneath uses his great vision and rection to go make a play on the ball if he can or a tackle. Using his explosive ability to drive down from above is one of his best traits.

In man coverage, McCoy looks dominant against all but the most physical, or most technically adept route runners. One key area he struggles with was when WRs decelerated he would too, but then if they ramped back up the combined action put him on the back foot with a lot of separation. Physical receivers also challenged him in, and forced a few pass interference penalties.

Outside of those two types of elite college receivers, McCoy locked down in man coverage. He has the speed and fluidity to stay with most WRs, and good closing speed to close any separation created. There are a few times on tape that it looked like he ran the route better than the receiver knew how to.

McCoy has great ball skills, with 18 career PBUs and four interceptions over the 25 games and 18 starts he had over two years. With the ball in his hands he is also a threat, averaging 17.8 yards per interception return in 2024.

McCoy could use a bit more physicality in his game, and it shows in two areas of his game. He is fine in press, slowing down most receivers, but again struggling against the best to make them adjust their timing early on. That lack of physicality again shows up in the run game where he is also just fine. There are not a ton of arm tackles on tape, and he often resorts to throwing a shoulder or a back to bring the opposition down. Does not seem to cherish getting in the muck.

Grade and Outlook

Jermod McCoy had an incredibly impressive 2024, and it would have been great to see him do something in 2025, but the ACL injury got in the way. He had some weirdness in his pre-draft process, but that happens sometimes when players listen to agents, so I will not put much stock into that. I think the NFL can help ratchet up his physicality and further refine his ability to mirror routes, especially in man coverage. McCoy should come in and be a standout zone coverage defender early on. His entire first season may be rough, just because of his long absence from playing added onto the change to a bigger, faster, stronger league, but in the end I bet he will figure it out and continue his ascendancy. Potential top 5 corner in the league with a very good chance of a floor at 15ish.

Grade: 6.5 (1st Rounder)