NFL Draft 2026 – Cornerback Jermod McCoy Scouting Report
Frank Coyle / Head scout
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1 Jermod McCoy #3 6-1, 188 Tennessee – Sp. 4.38
NFL Comparison: Champ Bailey Rating 95
Gifted third-year junior showed highly developed ability since his true freshman season at Oregon State. High-star recruit earned honors at OSU before transferring to Tennessee. Made immediate impact at Tennessee and earned first team SEC and 3rd team All-American honors. Excellent positional athleticism with natural combination to succeed early in the NFL. Unfortunately, he sustained a torn ACL injury in Jan 2025 which terminated his final season. He is a rare natural polished athlete who played immediately at high levels and graded out very impressively. Blankets receivers when isolated in one-to-one matchups. He has developed the finer nuances of playing corner very quickly. Explosive athlete with blue chip skills for the demanding pro corner position. Very good height and frame for the corner spot with long arms and good muscle development. Excellent initial quickness with the ability to flip his hips easily and shadow receivers. Fast footwork that allows him to mirror through the transition stage in both the underneath or deeper routes. Instant accelerator and can reach top speed quickly and ride a receiver’s hip. Able to gather himself and break down in space on the move, displaying fine quickness and flexibility. Outstanding range and rare closing speed to make the key interception or breakup passes. Uses his fine short-area quickness and lateral movement skills to mirror receivers and maintains his speed to run stride for stride down the field. Smooth in his ability to change directions and retain position with close coverage. In press coverage, gets good arm extension and is able to redirect and disrupt receivers at the line. Natural cover man is able to use the sidelines as an extra defender and can track well from a trail position. Uses his outstanding COD to react very well to comeback routes. He picks up routes quickly and baits QBs to throw the ball providing a cushion for the receiver which he knows he can close in a heartbeat. In 2023 as a true freshman at OSU, he started 5 games with 31 tackles, 2 interceptions. At Tennessee in 2024, he started all 13 games and had 44 total tackles, 4 interceptions and 7 PBUs. Earned All-American honors and SEC first team nominee and did not allow a TD reception. Over his last two seasons, he was tested by top receivers with long speed and highly developed skills. His height combined with exceptional leaping ability allow him to win on most jump balls. Shows explosive cobra-like quickness to plant and drive aggressively and break up passes. He will challenge every throw and looks to break on the ball and make a turnover. In run support, he will attack aggressively with secure tackling to finish. Wiry frame needs to add some muscle which would help him improve his strength to get off blocks and finish more consistently. At times, he looks to make the big play and gets caught peeking into the backfield. Capable of recovering with his top speed and able to break up passes, relying on his speed, length and leaping ability. Very natural and smooth when he needs to flip his hips to turn and run. At the NFL Combine, he checked in at 6006 and 188 lbs. He did not workout, though checked out well medically. At his pro day, he ran a 4.38 time with a 38” VL and 10’7” BJ. Looked sharp in the complete positional drills. As a corner, he is similar to versatile Champ Bailey in body type, athleticism and coverage development. Cobra like corner with quick feet, flexible hips and body control along with explosive COD. Fast development and close to being an NFL ready plugin player who possesses a very high ceiling. Prototypical true #1 shutdown corner with outstanding athleticism and playmaking ability. Exceptional ball hawk with 25 games with 18 starts,16 TFUs and 6 interceptions while clubs threw away from him regularly. His knee injury will be 18 months when NFL training camp opens a full 6 months ahead of the rehab period. Probable Pro Bowler if he continues to develop his natural skills. Rare blue-chipper and top-flight cover man. Lights out shutdown corner.
Draft Projection: 1st Round – Top 10
