ESPN analyst: Jermod McCoy was second-best pick in the NFL Draft

ESPN NFL Draft analyst Matt Miller picked Tennessee football cornerback Jermod McCoy as his second-favorite pick in the NFL Draft over the weekend. McCoy, widely projected to be a first-round pick over the last year, fell all the way to the fourth round due to injury concerns.

“There’s always a really good player who slips due to injury,” Miller wrote this week. “Ranked as my No. 10 overall prospect, McCoy fell to No. 101 based on concerns that a surgical procedure he had done following a January 2025 ACL tear might need to be redone. But McCoy was cleared to work out at Tennessee’s pro day and excelled with a 40-yard dash time of 4.38 seconds.”

Miller’s favorite pick from the draft was Ohio State safety Caleb Downs at No. 11 overall to the Dallas Cowboys. McCoy was ranked as the 10th-best player available in the draft according to Miller’s pre-draft rankings.

“Las Vegas aggressively attacked its secondary needs,” Miller wrote, “but getting McCoy here could be the weekend’s biggest steal if he’s healthy. It was a smart bet to make and shows that general manager John Spytek is correctly thinking about risk, value and potential.”

ESPN’s Field Yates also picked McCoy as one of his favorite picks in the draft.

“At some point,” Yates wrote, “the health risk surrounding McCoy’s right knee is outweighed by the upside a team was getting by taking him. I’d argue that point was well before the start of the fourth round, so I loved this pick by the Raiders.

“McCoy’s 2024 tape was downright exceptional, landing him in the top 15 of my prospect rankings. He is fast and confident as a man-to-man coverage corner.”

It was the same feedback from ESPN’s Jordan Reid.

“The corner was my No. 12 overall player and slipped to the fourth round because of injury concerns,” Reid wrote for ESPN after the draft, “as he missed the entire 2025 season after tearing his ACL last January. 

“This is a low-risk, high-reward move by the Raiders. If McCoy is able to return to his pre-injury form, then the franchise has a true shutdown CB1.”

McCoy was the third of five former Tennessee players to get drafted. 

Fellow corner Colton Hood went at No. 37 overall to the New York Giants early in the second round and wide receiver Chris Brazzell II was the No. 83 overall pick, taken by the Carolina Panthers in the third round.

Edge rusher Joshua Josephs was picked at No. 147 overall, taken by the Washington Commanders in the fifth round, and defensive lineman Tyre Westwas the No. 222 overall pick, taken by the Detroit Lions in the seventh round.

Quarterback Joey Aguilar highlighted a group of seven former Tennessee players who signed as undrafted free agents Saturday night. 

Jermod McCoy missed entire 2025 season with torn ACL

McCoy tore his ACL during an individual offseason workouts in January 2025, then missed the entire 2025 season. He didn’t do drills at the NFL Scouting Combine in February, but turned heads at Tennessee’s Pro Day with a 4.37 time in the 40, a 10-foot-7 broad jump and a 38-inch vertical.

“I had a good pro day, ran some good times and did some good things,” McCoy said. “… It’s not in my control, and I’m just truly blessed that the team took me anyway, because it’s an achievement to get here in the first place.”

It was reported Friday night that McCoy was falling in the draft because of a bone plug issue in his knee that could lead to a second surgery and more time missed, if not bringing the remainder of his career into question. 

McCoy addressed the injury concerns after being drafted. 

“All of my doctors that did my surgery told me I’m good,” McCoy said. “But if there’s something that (the Raiders) want me to do for the longevity of my career, I’m willing to do that because I feel like they have my best interest.”