Bengals get prediction to draft Jermod McCoy, despite NFL teams taking him off their boards

Tennessee defensive back Jermod McCoy (3) before a college football game between Tennessee and UAB at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Sept. 20, 2025. | Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The NFL Draft is so close you can almost taste it, and the Cincinnati Bengals find themselves in an intriguing spot at No. 10 overall.

There is a list of about six to nine players (depending on who you talk to) that Cincinnati should be ecstatic to see fall to them. However, being at No. 10 means they need some unexpected things to happen to be sure to have one fall.

That is a point that Paul Dehner Jr. wrote about in his latest article for The Athletic. Out of his list of players is Jermod McCoy, who Dehner projected the Bengals to ultimately select, despite the fact that several NFL teams have taken McCoy off the board due to the ACL tear he suffered in early 2025 that led to him missing the entire season.

Who will be the most likely to slip down the board? Likely the player coming off the knee injury, who didn’t participate in 2025. The Athletic’s draft expert, Dane Brugler, pointed out that some teams took McCoy off the draft board because of his knee. The Bengals wouldn’t be one of them, and it’s hard to see them passing up one of the top two corners at this point in a draft when you put together the pieces of all the moves they have made on defense this offseason. The hole is obvious in the short and long term. McCoy is the most athletic corner in this draft with elite tape, a ball-hawking reputation and an SEC background. That checks a significant number of Bengals boxes.

A player coming off such a serious injury is never ideal, especially when you hear some teams have taken him off their boards altogether, bringing up memories of names like John Ross. Tennessee’s Jermod McCoy would otherwise likely be a talent that would not fall to 10.

He is the kind of man-to-man corner you rarely see your team get a shot at unless they pick top five or are willing to spend top dollar. The Bengals haven’t done the first in several years now, but they have never been the second.

We all know the Bengals had a long run with first round corners back during their playoff appearance run in the Andy Dalton and Marvin Lewis era. They have particularly been keen on SEC players as well. You had in his ballhawk ability, and it isn’t hard to make the connection of the Bengals selecting him. He may even be the pick over a player like Caleb Downs.

That would mark four straight first round picks with a serious concern when they were drafted. Myles Murphy and Shemar Stewart lacked production at the college level, and Amarius Mims had injury concerns (whether that was a legitimate concern, though, is up for debate).

To McCoy’s credit, he balled out at his Pro Day recently with a 4.38-second 40-yard dash. So he is fairly far along in recovery.

It would just be nice to take a guy who was productive at the college level without injury concerns. Especially with a Top 10 pick.