What Other Vols Could Join Jermod McCoy in the First Round of the 2026 NFL Draft?
The PFF preseason All-American junior cornerback might not be the only Tennessee player to hear his name called early in next year's NFL Draft.
It has been a tumultuous spring for the Tennessee Volunteers football program. Not since head football coach Josh Heupel’s first spring in 2021 on Rocky Top have things felt this uncertain. However, there have been some positive developments this spring for the Vols. One was that Tennessee had a player go in the first and second rounds of the 2026 NFL Draft. Another was that in a 2026 NFL Mock Draft, All-SEC First-Team selection junior cornerback Jermod McCoy was mocked to go No. 13 to the Miami Dolphins. I also don’t think McCoy is the lone Vol to have a real shot at being taken early in the 2026 NFL Draft.
As you certainly recall, McCoy burst onto the scene as Tennessee’s lockdown corner opposite fellow sophomore Rickey Gibson III last season. You could argue the duo was Tennessee’s best cornerback combination this century. Before the season, remember, there was a lot of concern about the turnover in that position group. Kamal Hadden, Wesley Walker, Tamarion McDonald, Gabe Jeudy-Lally, etc., all moved on either to the NFL or to other schools following the 2023 season.
Instead, Tennessee had a top-10 scoring defense. Additionally, Tennessee’s secondary was No. 3 in the SEC in opposing QB rating. They were second in the SEC in opponent third-down conversion rate. The Vols gave up just two pass plays that went for 40 or more yards last season, which was good for No. 1 in the best conference in the sport. The Vols were the only team in the SEC to give up zero passing plays of 50 or more yards last season. The point being, defensive coordinator Tim Banks’ secondary was exceptional.
So seeing McCoy, a PFF preseason 2026 All-American, already mocked to go early in the first round of next year’s draft is hardly a surprise. However, is there a chance another Vol or two sneak into the first round in the 2026 NFL Draft? If Tennessee is to have more than one first-round pick in next year’s NFL Draft, Vol fans should look to the trenches as to who could fit that bill alongside McCoy.
The first is senior LEO Joshua Josephs. The opportunity is there for the former four-star recruit out of Cobb County, Georgia, to put it all together for a fantastic final season in Knoxville. Josephs’ fellow star LEO Pearce Jr. is gone to the NFL, and with two talented, but unproven, blue-chip LEOs behind him in Jordan Ross and Caleb Herring, the Vols are going to need Josephs to piece it all together as a pass-rusher in 2025. With so much attention on Pearce Jr. last year it was easy to overlook Josephs. However, PFF graded Josephs as the No. 1 overall defender for a top-10 unit in the sport last season. Sure, Josephs only had two sacks, but he had an 86.4 pass-rush grade, per PFF, but he was also the No. 1 run defender for the Vols last season with a 91.4 grade. Yes, the Vols need Josephs to help make up for the 13 sacks that Pearce Jr. and Omar Norman-Lott accounted for last season, but the opportunity will be there for Josephs to register his highest sack total at Tennessee.
The other aspect that’s rather intriguing about Josephs’ potential rise on 2026 NFL Draft boards relates to the last two elite LEOs at Tennessee – Pearce Jr. and Byron Young. The latter was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft and has already accumulated 17 sacks across two seasons for head coach Sean McVay’s team. The former was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. If Pearce Jr. bursts onto the scene in Atlanta next season and breaks the dubious Seven Sack Season streak, it’s fair to wonder how much that helps a player like Josephs move up in next year’s draft. Especially when you consider that would mean multiple Vols under the tutelage of Coach Rodney Garner and Coach Levorn “Chop” Harbin thriving off the edge in the NFL.
Perhaps the better bet alongside McCoy is in offensive line coach Glenn Elarbee’s unit. Yes, the Vols have to replace four starters from a season ago, but we are just two years removed from right tackle Darnell Wright going into the top 10 in the 2023 NFL Draft to the Chicago Bears. Left tackle Lance Heard is a former five-star recruit, like Wright, and was a big-time get for the Vols last offseason.
Heard didn’t have a great first season at Tennessee, as the LSU transfer registered a 61.8 pass blocking grade and a 41.5 run blocking grade. However, in two of Tennessee’s last three games of the season, his pass-blocking grades improved. Outside of the Georgia debacle, Heard finished the season relatively strong.
At 6’6”, 330 pounds, he certainly has the measurables and look of a premier offensive tackle at the collegiate level and beyond. It’s a huge year for him in Year 2 at Tennessee, but it is worth noting that the only other five-star offensive lineman to play under Elarbee at Tennessee was a top-10 pick thus far. It’s also important to note that Wright had a 59.9 pass-blocking grade in 2021 before the huge jump the following season. Like Wright, Heard has the talent to take off for the Vols in 2025 and have the kind of season that puts him in the first-round discussion for next year’s NFL Draft.
Sure, McCoy is the safest bet for the next Tennessee star to be taken in the first round of the NFL Draft, but don’t sleep on Josephs or Heard going into next season, either.