Jan. 26, 2026, 3:49 p.m. ET

Now that the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots are set to meet in Super Bowl LX, 30 teams are now in offseason mode and the first 30 picks are the 2026 NFL Draft are now set. That means full first-round mock drafts are just about ready to roll, especially now that the final deadline for underclassmen to declare for the draft has passed. Indiana and Miami underclassmen had extra time thanks to those teams reaching the National Championship Game.

You also know draft season is really in full swing when NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah drops his first mock draft of the season. He did just that on Monday, so let’s take a look at who DJ has the Cincinnati Bengals selecting at No. 10 overall.

That player turns out to be Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy. Cornerback has been a position the Bengals have been trying to address for years. Could McCoy finally be the one?

“Cincinnati needs help all over the field on defense. McCoy missed the 2025 season due to injury, but his 2024 tape was outstanding. He’s squarely in the mix to be the top CB in the draft.”

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As Jeremiah alludes to, McCoy is going to be an interesting case study in this class. After the 2024 season, McCoy positioned himself to be a very high draft pick for 2026 and was set to be one of the best players in the college game in 2025. Unfortunately, he suffered a torn ACL during the offseason and missed the entire season.

His recovery will be put under the spotlight, but if teams are comfortable with his medicals, which should come more into light at the Scouting Combine, he is still likely going around the top half of the first round.

Interestingly enough, Jeremiah has the Bengals taking McCoy over a player that feels like the fan-favorite at the moment at No. 10, Ohio State safety Caleb Downs. Downs went one pick later, No. 11 overall, to the Miami Dolphins.

When healthy, McCoy possesses excellent traits and could be one of the better cornerbacks in the league. Teams will just have to figure out how to navigate his rookie season with his recovery. By the time he is drafted, he’ll have been about 15 months into his recovery, which is usually more than enough time for an ACL.

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