National Football League teams felt that former University of Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy was too big of a risk to take in the first three rounds of this year’s draft.
The first pick of the fourth round was more like it.
The Las Vegas Raiders opened Saturday’s third and final day of the NFL’s seven-round extravaganza in Pittsburgh by trading up one spot with the Buffalo Bills and selecting McCoy with the 101st overall pick. The 6-foot-1, 188-pounder from Whitehouse, Texas, was an Associated Press second-team All-American for the Volunteers in 2024, but he did not play last year due to a torn right anterior cruciate ligament.
“It was definitely difficult while this was going on, but I know that God has a plan for me,” McCoy said of his draft slide during a conference call with Raiders reporters. “I was prepared for whatever happened, but I thought I would go higher for sure. I had a good pro day and ran some good times and things like that.
“It’s not in my control, though, and I’m just truly blessed that a team took me. It’s an achievement to get here in the first place.”
McCoy had been projected as a top-10 prospect during the draft process but did not work out at the NFL combine in Indianapolis in late February. He did run a dazzling 4.37 seconds in the 40-yard dash during Tennessee’s pro day on March 31, but reports surfaced in recent days that he would need more surgery due to degenerative cartilage in his right knee.
“I feel good, but as far as another surgery, that would strictly be based on what the team wants me to do,” McCoy said. “Whatever the team has planned for me is what I’ll be doing.”
In his one season of action on a 10-3 Tennessee team that reached the College Football Playoff, McCoy amassed 44 tackles, nine pass breakups and four interceptions. Two of those four picks were acrobatic snags in victories over Alabama and Vanderbilt.
McCoy transferred to Knoxville after his freshman season at Oregon State, where he notched his first career interception at the expense of former California and Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who was picked first overall Thursday night by the Raiders.
“This guy is exceptional,” longtime NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper said on ESPN after McCoy’s selection. “If you go back to 2024, which was the last season we saw Jermod McCoy at Tennessee on the field, the guy was a game-changer. He was big, physical, long and confident in man coverage, and he had excellent ball skills as well.
“There are questions about the knee, which is why he was still here, but this is an unbelievable value for the Raiders.”
Another Las Vegas teammate of McCoy will be receiver Dont’e Thornton, who averaged a whopping 25.4 yards per catch for the 2024 Vols. Thornton had 26 catches for 661 yards and six touchdowns that season.
“The year me and Dont’e were together, we would battle every day,” McCoy said. “We made each other way better throughout that season, and I think he was part of the reason I had the season that I had. Getting to do that again will improve both of our games.”
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McCoy was Tennessee’s third player selected, with fellow cornerback Colton Hood going in the second round to the New York Giants and receiver Chris Brazzell II in the third round to the Carolina Panthers. Edge rusher Joshua Joseph became the fourth Vols player taken, going to the Washington Commanders in the fifth round as the 147th overall selection.
The selection of Josephs, a 6-3, 242-pounder from Kennesaw, Georgia, marked the third time in the past four drafts that the Vols produced four top-150 picks. They accomplished that feat just twice during the 15 drafts from 2008-22.
In his four seasons in Knoxville, Josephs racked up 104 tackles, 22 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, six forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries.
The Vols’ fifth and final pick of the draft was defensive end Tyre West, acquired by the Detroit Lions early in the seventh round as the 222nd overall selection. The 6-1, 278-pounder from Tifton, Georgia, compiled 65 tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss, 10 sacks and two forced fumbles during his four-year career with the Vols.
Immediately after the draft, several Vols were given free-agent opportunities, including quarterback Joey Aguilar (Jacksonville Jaguars), tight end Miles Kitselman (Detroit), defensive tackle Jaxson Moi (Los Angeles Rams) and defensive back Jalen McMurray (Tennessee Titans).
Odds and ends
The Southeastern Conference led all leagues for a 20th consecutive draft by producing a record 87 selections, easily outdistancing the Big Ten’s 68 picks. … Tennessee’s 22 picks in the past five drafts are the most in a five-year span for the program since 26 were selected from 2003-07. … West became the 24th player taken by Detroit, which has drafted more Vols than any other NFL franchise.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.