INDIANAPOLIS -- On Thursday at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine, defensive backs and tight ends took their turn speaking to members of the media, while defensive linemen and linebackers were participating in the first day of workouts at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Here are five things we learned from prospects' podium appearances.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: NFL Network and NFL+ will have live coverage of the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine through March 1.
1) Top CB McCoy feels like himself again, but will wait to show everyone else. How impressive is Jermod McCoy's 2024 tape? Well, the guy didn't play a snap in 2025, yet he's widely projected to be a first-round pick in April, ranking as Bucky Brooks' No. 1 cornerback and Daniel Jeremiah's No. 13 overall prospect.
After spending his first year in college as a part-time starter at Oregon State, McCoy enjoyed a breakout '24 campaign with Tennessee, earning second-team AP All-America honors with elite ball production (four interceptions, nine pass breakups). But shortly after that season ended, in January of 2025, the Volunteers CB tore his ACL while training.
"I just jumped up for a ball and just landed wrong," McCoy recalled on Thursday at the NFL Scouting Combine.
The injury sidelined the junior for the entire '25 campaign but didn't preclude him from declaring for the 2026 NFL Draft, a decision McCoy called "clear-cut."
"I just feel like, when you're ready, you're ready," McCoy said. "And I felt ready to come out."
McCoy isn't ready to ply his wares in Indy, though, putting off on-field drills until Tennessee's pro day.
"I just want to make sure I'm putting the best in," McCoy said. "Give me some more training time, do it all at pro day."
The draft world might be dying to see the 6-foot, 193-pound cover man back in action 13 months after his injury, but McCoy says he hasn't gotten any pushback from teams for opting out of this week's workout.
"No, I think they respect my decision," McCoy revealed.
The 20-year-old wanted to return to the lineup last fall but just couldn't get there.
"I got cleared, I was doing everything -- practicing, everything," McCoy said. "I just didn't feel ready yet."
McCoy repeatedly stressed that he's fully recovered now -- "I can do everything ... No limits" -- and targets a 40 time in the 4.3s when he works out in Knoxville.
"I feel I'm gonna have a great pro day," McCoy said. "So, when they all come out there and see that I'm still the same person that I was before the injury, that's really it."
-- Gennaro Filice
2) Buzzworthy safety carries small-school chip on his shoulder. Emmanuel McNeil-Warren wasn't a household name in college football, but the versatile safety is creating plenty of buzz in the pre-draft process. Ranked as Daniel Jeremiah's No. 15 overall prospect, the Toledo product says his small-school pedigree put a big-time chip on his shoulder.
"It's like a small MAC school, so how I treat it, like, you gotta work harder than anybody, because people at Power [Four] schools, they got it easier, for real," McNeil-Warren said on Thursday. "So, I feel like me being at a MAC school, I had to work harder every day."
The Power Four actually came calling with NIL money once McNeil-Warren blossomed at Toledo, but the Florida native stuck with the school that offered him a scholarship before anyone else.
"There was a lot of schools trying to get me in the portal, trying to get me to leave Toledo," McNeil-Warren divulged. "But me, I'm big on loyalty, for real. So, I feel like, Toledo, they stayed true to me, they believed in me from the start, they developed me. So I feel like, why switch up on them (when) they never switched up on me?
"I wasn't worried about short-term money; I was trying to worry about that long-term money in the league, and be in the league forever."
McNeil-Warren also hasn't had to look far for inspiration. Former Toledo teammate Quinyon Mitchell was the No. 22 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. The Eagles cornerback won a Super Bowl as a Year 1 starter and just earned first-team All-Pro honors in Year 2. McNeil-Warren and Mitchell remain close friends, routinely interacting in text groups with current and former Rockets defensive backs.
"He our motivation for us," McNeil-Warren said. "He just pushed us to be great, pushed us to work hard every day and be the best players that we can be."
At 6-2 and 202 pounds, McNeil-Warren's a rangy safety with premium length for the position. And his physicality absolutely jumps off the screen.
"I can let all my anger out on the field," McNeil-Warren said. "I feel like you bleed just how I bleed -- we both human, so we gonna bleed together. And I just leave everything out on the field like it's my last."
-- Gennaro Filice
3) Sibling rivalry brewing. Clemson CB Avieon Terrell -- the younger brother of Falcons CB A.J. Terrell -- arrived at this year's combine as a potential first-round pick six years after his brother was selected 16th overall by Atlanta.
Avieon didn't hesitate on Thursday when he was asked whether he wants to best A.J.'s 4.42-second 40-yard dash time from the 2020 combine.
"Yeah, I'm going to try to destroy all his times" Avieon said. "I want to be able to talk junk to him."
It appears the trash talk will have to wait until later, though, as Avieon told NFL.com he will be participating in all the combine events except the 40-yard dash.
It might turn out that Avieon is faster, but A.J. is larger, measuring 6-1 and 200 pounds, while Avieon is listed by Clemson at 5-11 and 180 pounds.
"I feel like I can get the ball more than him, but no real difference," Avieon said of the comparison between their games. "He's just bigger. That's it."
If that proves to be true, Avieon's drafting team will likely be very happy with its decision. After all, A.J. was a second-team All-Pro in 2021 and has started at least 14 games in all six of his NFL seasons.
-- Dan Parr
4) Downs has no doubts about ability. Caleb Downs arrived in Indianapolis with plenty of confidence this week.
The two-time All-American safety has plenty of reason for that, starting with the undeniably excellent tape he produced at both Alabama and Ohio State. And while his position isn't valued quite as highly as others, it can be argued that he is one of the top talents in the class.
Downs was asked Thursday if he is the best defender at the combine, and he didn't dispute the notion.
"If I would say that I walked on the field and thought anybody was better than me, yeah, that's not true," Downs said.
Downs looked very comfortable at the podium, as if he'd spent his life preparing for this moment. Thanks to the football roots planted by his father, former NFL running back Gary Downs, as well as his uncle, longtime NFL cornerback Dre' Bly, and his older brother (and current Colts receiver) Josh Downs, Downs received expert-level lessons and guidance. He credited the NFLers in his life as being a driving force behind his success in both the past and future.
"People always asked, 'Did you ever think you weren't going to be able to do it?' No," Downs said. "I was around everything that I needed to be around, and it never was a thought, like, 'Am I gonna be able to do it?' It was just like, 'I'll get there at some point.' "
-- Nick Shook
5) An LB in a CB's body? LSU's Mansoor Delane isn't planning to work out at the NFL Scouting Combine. He believes his 2025 performance speaks volumes about his skill.
"Cut the tape," Delane said Thursday when asked who the best cornerback in the 2026 NFL Draft is. "It speaks for itself."
Delane checks in as the top corner and ranks No. 8 overall on NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah's Top 50 prospects list, labeled by Jeremiah as "one of the most consistent players in this draft class." After spending three seasons at Virginia Tech, Delane transferred to LSU and emerged as first-team All-America and first-team All-SEC picks.
Delane touted his versatility, being able to play in any coverage and any spot in the secondary, as one of his best attributes. But he also said his physicality is what truly sets him apart.
"You know, if I had a choice, I'd have played middle linebacker in college," Delane said. "You know, I just love physicality. I love tackling. I love being in the box. ...
"A lot of corners might be scared to tackle, but I love that."
As for one area he'd like to improve, Delane said he wanted to make more plays on the ball. He had a four-interception season in 2024 and defended 11 passes last season (in spite of only 35 targets, per Pro Football Focus), but Delane wants to be more impactful.
"I want to take the ball away more," he said. "That's a big area of improvement for me. I want to be a game changer. You know, a team is going to keep throwing at you if you keep getting PBUs, right, so you just have to take the ball away."
-- Eric Edholm
6) Thieneman reveals goal for 40-yard dash. Oregon's Dillon Thieneman, one of the top safeties in this year's draft, told reporters he plans to participate in all the combine events when defensive backs take the field on Friday.
He set the bar high when asked about the time he intends to post in the 40.
"I do have a target," he said. "My goal is to get to 4.3."
If Thieneman hits that mark, he'll join an exclusive club. Just 23 of the 442 (5.2%) combine safeties since 2003 ran a sub-4.4 40 in Indianapolis.
Showing that kind of speed would undoubtedly help his stock, although he was already on the rise in NFL.com analyst Daniel Jeremiah's most recent prospect rankings, receiving a two-spot bump up to No. 23.
-- Dan Parr
