Jermod McCoy is a boundary CB with rare reactive athleticism that allows him to read, transition, and close quickly to win in a variety of hybrid coverages. ​

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McCoy was a 3-star recruit and the 126th-ranked CB nationally in the 2023 recruiting class, choosing Oregon State over Tulane and other G5 schools. McCoy started for the Beavs as a true freshman, posting 2 picks, 6 PBUs, and 0 penalties in the 11 games he played in. He entered the transfer portal that offseason and eventually chose Tennessee over a number of schools, including Washington, Texas A&M, Oregon, and TCU. As a true sophomore with the Vols, McCoy earned All-SEC honors, intercepting 4 passes and posting 9 PBUs in what was a mostly dominant showcase against the highest competition level. 

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Where McCoy really dominates is when he plays soft-press or off-man coverage and can display his best traits--those being mirror ability, route recognition, click-and-close burst, and physicality at and through the catch point. Starting with his mirror ability, McCoy displays good foot quickness and elite transition speed to stick with nearly every route on the tree. Against Oklahoma, his IQ and route recognition were fully showcased, closing downhill from his deep zone and breaking up a pass on one rep and making a hi-lo read from Tampa 2 to earn an interception on another rep. McCoy's burst is coupled with his ability to decelerate and not only win against, but to dominate WRs at the top of comebacks and hitches. From an off-man alignment, McCoy's burst and physicality through the hands of the WR are also a major strength. It's worth noting the penalties and instances, however, where McCoy fails to get his head around and mistimes his play on the ball/receiver working downfield. This is a wishy-washy aspect of his game; there are instances as described but also remarkable examples of him getting his head around and playing the ball, like on his INT vs Ryan Williams in the endzone or vs Vanderbilt in '24. McCoy has flashed the ability to play the ball in a way that is translatable and it's not surprising a CB who was 18 or 19 in his tape would be fairly inconsistent in this area. 

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McCoy's performances against Jeremiah Smith (157.3 passer rating allowed) and Andrew Armstrong (105.1 passer rating allowed) will face scrutiny given they expose weakness in his playstyle when it comes to guarding long, physical WRs. McCoy, as discussed previously, excels in soft-press and off-man thanks to his elite mirror ability, lateral agility, and transition speed. This, however, doesn't always make up for him not getting his hands on a WR and disturbing the route. He doesn't use his hands to knock the WR off their path and once momentum is gained, larger WRs like Smith and Armstrong are able to win vertically, draw grabs/penalties, and dominate at the catch point, just like we saw in 2024. McCoy's passive style in press coverage may not serve him against true WR1s in the NFL and it's likely there will be a learning curve. He has solid size and the requisite physicality based off what we've seen from him in other areas, all he needs to do is develop and deploy a more physical press technique where he can dominate early contact exchanges vs larger NFL WRs. 

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An underrated and unheralded aspect of McCoy's game is his run defense. Let's start with his tackling--a 7% missed tackle rate is awesome. This is coupled with physicality and a bit of surprising stopping power that you just love to see from a young outside CB. The athleticism closing downhill isn't a question either. At times, McCoy struggles to get off blocks in run support, but this isn't really a glaring weakness, nor has it sprung a big play for the offense where he should have been the one to stop it. 

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There are obvious concerns over McCoy having only one full season of film in the SEC since he missed all of 2025 with a torn ACL. Additionally, it's unclear whether he'll work out at the NFL Combine or his Pro Day. 

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Jermod McCoy is best suited for a hybrid defense that allows him to shine in off-man/man-match looks thanks to his reactive athleticism and route IQ. I'd be happy to see him land in Philadelphia or Green Bay where he'd be a great scheme fit, though if medicals check out, he's probably going a lot higher than where those teams will be picking.

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Grade: mid 1st round

Archetype: Boundary CB in a Man-Match Defense 

High-End Pro Comparison: Darius Slay

Low-End Pro Comparison: Gareon Conley