Which Tennessee Cornerback should the Dallas Cowboys target?

As we’ve come down the stretch in the 2026 NFL Draft cycle, an oddly specific question has risen for the Dallas Cowboys: which Tennessee cornerback is more likely to head to America’s Team?

If you’re a Cowboys fan plugged in to the draft this year, I’m sure you’ve seen the debate between Jermod McCoy and Colton Hood, both now-former Volunteers and two of the top five cornerbacks in this class.

McCoy, following a Pro Day performance that quieted fears of his past knee injury, is now a projected top-12 pick, while Hood, a more underrated prospect, is likely to go in the 20-32 range.

You may have noticed that the Cowboys pick at the end and at the beginning of both prospects’ overall draft-stock range, so which one should they actually target?

The Case for Jermod McCoy at 12: Elite Prospect If Knee Is Cleared

If you’re arguing for McCoy at 12, it’s a pretty simple opinion: he’s an elite, blue-chip prospect that could easily go in the top-eight of this draft class.

Recently, I compared the situation between Mansoor Delane and McCoy with the 2021 cornerback class, as I think it’s an important one to remember. In that class, Pat Surtain II led the group for months before Jaycee Horn jumped him on draft night.

Although “PS2” is the better pro, Horn has still turned into a special player, and it’s certainly possible McCoy is set to follow that same track.

If he doesn’t go higher than Delane, and he’s available at 12, it may be a value pick at this point. The only questions come from the ACL tear in January 2025, but as I mentioned, it seems the Pro Day testing gave some teams comfort in that situation.

If Dallas is one of those teams, I think it will be hard for them to justify passing on the star Tennessee cornerback from their dominant 2024 season, even if he hasn’t played since.

The Case for Colton Hood at 20: Prioritize Another Star, Still Get High-Quality CB Later

The flip side of the coin is with Hood, and there are a few pathways to the Cowboys going his way instead.

First, if they don’t feel absolutely perfect with Jermod McCoy’s knee, they will pass on him. We’ve heard the team talk about avoiding “redshirt rookies,” and they just went with an active ACL rehab guy in Shavon Revel last year. I still think he can progress into a great player, but it was a rocky start.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones makes it pretty clear, they are going to be drafting players that can help immediately. No time for redshirt years pic.twitter.com/To01VdP5yO

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) February 28, 2026

Secondly, it is important to remember that there are defensive stars in this class outside the cornerback position. I think if we see Caleb Downs, Rueben Bain Jr., David Bailey, etc., either available at 12 or sought after in a trade-up, it quickly takes out any chance of McCoy at 12, and increases the odds of Hood at 20, considering they’ll still need a CB.

The cornerback class is deeper than some of those other defensive groups, so this route could provide a better draft from a value and need-fitting perspective.

There is, of course, the formality pathway of McCoy just not being available, or the route where Dallas just falls in love with Hood, who does seem like a perfect fit in Christian Parker’s defense.

McCoy v. Hood: What Would You Rather Do?

Now, I’ll turn it over to you: which of these scenarios would you rather have if we limited the conversation to both McCoy and Hood?

Scenario 1: Cowboys select Jermod McCoy, CB, Tennessee at 12 & Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Texas Tech / Best Pass-Rusher Available at 20.

Scenario 2: Cowboys select Rueben Bain, EDGE, Miami / Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State at 12 & Colton Hood, CB, Tennessee at 20.