PRO 2025 Rookie Spotlight: Bru McCoy, WR Tennessee
Rookie Spotlight: Bru McCoy, Tennessee
Height: 6-3
Weight: 230
Hands:
Arm:
2025 Age: 25 – (6/22/00)
NFL Play-Style Comparison: J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, Jauan Jennings
Other RW Staff Comps: LaQuon Treadwell, Justin Shorter
Draft Grade: 6th Round
Projected 40: 4.63
Breakout Age: No Breakout
Event: Senior Bowl
Offensive Market Share Metrics (Final Season)
Receptions: 17%
Receiving Yards: 16%
Receiving TDs: 10%
High School: Mater Dai (Rolling Hills Estate, CA)
As a high school prospect: Class of 2019; 5-star (6.1)
Honors: Captain, 2024 Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Semifinalist, 2024 SEC Community Service Team
College Attended: USC(3), Tennessee(3)
Pros
– Above average athlete at 230 lbs
– Aggressor in the run game
– Led Tennessee (10-3) in receptions (39) in 2024
– High-point ability in traffic
– Shows ability to stack defenders on the outside occasionally
– Prototypical ‘X’ receiver build
– Out-performed Cedric Tillman (Cleveland Browns) in 2022, finishing 2nd in receiving for Tennessee, behind Jalin Hyatt
Cons
– Dealt with numerous injuries in college (hamstring, wrist), but the biggest was a season-ending fractured dislocation of his right ankle in 2023.
– Limited route tree
– Ranked 198th out of 206 in Passer Rating when targeted (68.0) in the Power 5
– Better straight-line speed than lateral quickness, Unlikely to perform well in the change of direction testing
– Missed the 2021 season at USC due to an arrest in July 2021 for alleged domestic violence, he was suspended indefinitely by USC. All charges were dropped due to “lack of evidence”, USC stood on the suspension.
Highlight/Film
Scouting Notes:
According to Rivals, the Former No. 1 overall Athlete in the 2019 Recruiting class, Bru McCoy comes from one of the top High School football factories at Mater Dei in Santa Ana, California. He played there with prominent players such as Amon-Ra St. Brown, J.T. Daniels, Bryce Young, and Sean Dollars. Out of high school, McCoy committed to USC before flipping to Texas days later, he attended spring practice at Texas before flipping back to USC the summer before his freshman season began. During his RS-Freshman season in 2020, USC played just 6 games and McCoy finished 4th in receiving while playing alongside Drake London, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Tyler Vaughns. Heading into the 2021 season as the WR no. 2, McCoy ran into some trouble with an arrest in July of 2021 for alleged domestic violence, he was suspended indefinitely by USC. All charges were dropped due to “lack of evidence”, USC stood on the suspension. He never played another down for USC, transferring to Tennessee in May of 2022.
McCoy’s talent never left as he entered Knoxville, finishing with a career-high 667 yards and 52 receptions, his prototypical ‘x’ build reminds me of some older outside receivers like Andre Johnson, and Terrell Owens (don’t look too much into those names, moreso the frame) – players nowadays like LaQuon Treadwell and Justin Shorter should suffice, both very good college receivers with limited route trees and stiffer lower halves for change of direction plays and routes. The comp I landed on was J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, McCoy will have a lot of fans going through the process because of the back-of-mind success that former high-end recruits have had, as well as the rarity in the league right now to have a Mike Evans, DK Metcalf, etc. McCoy, unfortunately, is not those players. Like former Tennessee Volunteer Jauan Jennings, McCoy is an aggressor in the run game, willing to not only put his nose into the fight but attempt to put a defender in the dirt. Both players are limited route runners but have special talents allowing them to high-point footballs in most quadrants, including across the middle of the field, something I often think about regarding Jennings. There is plenty of room for a potential breakthrough with Bru McCoy, similar to Jauan Jennings in San Francisco, however, unfortunately, I see it as unlikely, landing Bru with a 6th-round grade.
