Jermod McCoy ACL tear, explained: How knee injury caused Tennessee CB's draft stock to decline originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Can you spend a top-15 NFL Draft pick on a player who hasn't played a game in more than 15 months? That's the question a few teams will have to ask themselves on Thursday when talented CB Jermod McCoy is available.
As far as talent goes, there is a strong case to be made that no cornerback in the 2026 draft has more than McCoy. He looked every bit like a first-round pick and potential top-10 selection at Tennessee in 2024, only for a torn ACL to wipe out his entire 2025 season.
The draft is about potential, and McCoy certainly has more than most players in his class. The question, then, is how much teams
McCoy suffered a torn ACL during an offseason workout less than a month after the end of the 2024 season. Despite initial reports that he could return in time for the 2025 season, McCoy didn't play another game for Tennessee.
The injury has since fully healed, and McCoy was able to run an impressive sub-4.4 40-yard dash at the Volunteers' pro day. However, NFL teams might still have concerns about the cornerback's knee.
Some teams are concerned that bone plug used to address a cartilage issue in McCoy's knee might need to be replaced, necessitating another knee surgery, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports. While McCoy's camp insists his knee is good to go and Pelissero reports the ACL is not a current concern, the potential for another knee surgery could scare teams away.
Here's a look at how long it's been since McCoy's injury.
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McCoy tore his ACL in mid-January 2025, in an offseason workout back home in Texas. He initially hoped to play in 2025, but he missed the entire season for the Volunteers before putting his full focus on the NFL Draft.
McCoy hasn't played in a game since Dec. 21, 2024, when Tennessee suffered a blowout loss to Ohio State in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
A transfer from Oregon State, McCoy played a full season for the Volunteers in 2024, recording four interceptions and nine pass deflections. He got through the season healthy before the unfortunate injury less than a month after his final game.
On draft day in 2026, it will have been 488 days since McCoy last played in a game. That figure will stretch to nearly 600 by the time the preseason begins.
Here's more to know about McCoy's projected range in the draft.
Whether the new injury concern of the time away from the field heavily impacts McCoy on draft night is still unclear. Many mock drafts don't predict much of a fall for the Tennessee star, who was actually recruited as a wide receiver out of high school.
SN's Vinnie Iyer projects McCoy to be the No. 11 pick to the Miami Dolphins in his seven-round mock draft, while the NFL Mock Draft Database has McCoy as the No. 12 pick to the Dallas Cowboys in its consensus mock draft, sourced from numerous mocks from different outlets.
Every draft seems to bring surprising draft night tumbles, including CB Will Johnson's slide to the middle of the second round last year due to injury concerns. McCoy is hoping his injury history doesn't cost him millions despite his sky-high potential.