Pro Football Focus has three Tennessee players in first round of latest 2026 NFL mock draft

Jermod McCoy isn’t the only Tennessee Football projected to be a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Neither is Colton Hood. Joshua Josephs is trending toward being a first-rounder, according to Pro Football Focus. 

PFF’s Trevor Sikkema, in his post-NFL trade deadline mock draft, has McCoy projected at No. 14 overall to the Dallas Cowboys, Josephs at No. 23 to the San Francisco 49ers and Hood at No. 25 to the Buffalo Bills.

McCoy has yet to play this season after tearing his ACL during offseason training. Hood has been a star for the Vols out of the NCAA Transfer Portal after transferring from Colorado. He has 38 tackles, seven passes defended and an interception and fumble returned for a touchdown.

Jermod McCoy is ‘a first-rounder and a potential CB1 in the NFL’

Josephs is tied for the Tennessee team lead in tackles for loss (6.0), is second in sacks (4.0) and ninth in tackles (30).

“(McCoy’s) 2024 tape showed the talent of a first-rounder and a potential CB1 in the NFL at 6-feet and 195 pounds,” Sikkema wrote. “He earned a strong 87.0 PFF overall grade in 2024.”

The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Jospehs, in his senior season at Tennessee, has 101 tackles, 22.0 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks in 46 games with the Vols.

James Pearce was the 26th overall pick by the Atlanta Falcons in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft after he finished with 71 tackles, 29.5 tackles for loss and 19.5 sacks in 39 games at Tennessee over the previous three seasons.

49ers need the ‘pass-rush juice’ provided by Tennessee’s Joshua Josephs

“Josephs is following up a very nice 2024 campaign with an equally impressive 2025 season,” Sikkema said. “He owns a 91.0 PFF pass-rush grade against true pass sets thanks to good explosiveness and very long arms. He also has a 72.4 PFF run-defense grade, powered by good play strength and leverage ability. The 49ers need that pass-rush juice.”

Hood spent the 2023 season at Auburn, then Colorado and Tennessee. He had 24 tackles, two interceptions and six passes defended at Colorado, after only playing four games during a redshirt season at Auburn.

“Maxwell Hairston has looked great since getting healthy and into the Bills’ lineup, but that shouldn’t take future investments at cornerback off the table,” Sikkema wrote. “In his first year as a full-time starter with the Volunteers, Hood is boasting a 77.8 PFF coverage grade in man, with seven forced incompletions and an interception. He has good length at 6 feet and 195 pounds, as well as the skills to play in press-man coverage.”