After months of evaluations, medical checks, and interviews, the 2026 NFL Draft is finally here. But before teams go on the clock, these five injury storylines have loomed largest in the lead-up to draft night.

Jermod McCoy’s ACL Recovery

McCoy suffered a torn ACL in January 2025, and his recovery has been a key topic leading up to the draft. According to multiple reports, some teams have labeled McCoy’s knee as degenerative. According to Pro Football Doc, the ACL itself was never the main concern. The bigger issue is the associated damage around the knee, which is far more important to the long-term outlook. Reports of a “plug” suggest full-thickness cartilage loss, and that raises major questions about durability and longevity. If there is also a possibility he could need another graft in the future, that is an ominous sign and the kind of detail teams would weigh heavily when evaluating his long-term value.

Jordyn Tyson’s Durability Concerns

Tyson has missed more than 15 games since 2022 and has dealt with a series of significant injuries, including a major knee injury involving a torn ACL, MCL, and PCL. He also suffered a collarbone fracture in 2024 and dealt with lingering hamstring issues during the 2025 season. Despite the durability concerns, Tyson has continued to produce at a high level when available. Still, the amount of missed time, roughly 48% of games over that span, raises legitimate questions for teams weighing his upside against his injury history. Even with the medical concerns and limited pre-draft participation, Tyson is still widely viewed as a first-round talent because of his production and upside when healthy. Pro Football Doc expects Tyson to go higher than some draft boards project.

Francis Mauigoa’s Back Disc Issue

Mauigoa underwent Combine rechecks in Indianapolis for additional imaging on a disc issue that caused some discomfort late in the season. Reports indicated the recheck revealed no new issues or concerns. Even after that follow-up was requested in early March, Mauigoa continued meeting with teams in the top third of the first round, a sign of confidence that the medical questions would be resolved. Despite the issue, he is not considered a candidate for immediate surgery after a full professional medical evaluation. Widely viewed as one of the top offensive linemen in this year’s class, Mauigoa has been projected to be taken at the top half of the first round and has been mocked as high as No. 2 overall. Pro Football Doc cautions that if Mauigoa and another offensive lineman are graded similarly, he expects Mauigoa’s back issue to cause him to fall below the other prospect on some teams’ draft boards.

Garrett Nussmeier’s Spine Cyst Questions

In April, reports said that Nussmeier’s medical evaluations revealed a cyst on his spine that was pressing against a nerve and causing the oblique pain. Nussmeier has been asymptomatic since the Senior Bowl. If the pain returns, however, the procedure to remove the cyst is considered minimally invasive and carries an expected recovery timeline of two to three weeks. According to Pro Football Doc, he expects Nussmeier to have the cyst removed after he is drafted. Pro Football Doc emphasized that although news of the cyst is new to the public, NFL teams have been aware of the condition for months. He added that his biggest concern with Nussmeier remains the talent evaluation, not the medicals.

Caleb Downs’ Knee Medicals

Downs remains one of the top defensive back prospects in the NFL draft, but questions about his knee could still affect how teams view him. Downs became the subject of medical scrutiny after a report said he arrived at the combine with a partially torn meniscus and a potentially degenerative ACL. Downs pushed back on that report at Pro Day, saying there was no truth to the degenerative knee claim. Downs did not miss a game in college and built an elite résumé that included multiple All-America honors and the 2025 Jim Thorpe Award. Pro Football Doc urged caution when the report first emerged, saying combine medical information can easily become distorted as it moves from doctors to scouts to media. Drawing from his experience attending more than 20 combines, Pro Football Doc emphasized that it is rare for prospects to be eliminated from consideration solely based on medical evaluations. Despite the noise, Downs status as one of the draft’s premier prospects remains largely intact heading into the next phase of the evaluation process.

As the 2026 NFL Draft approaches, teams are doing more than just reviewing game tape; they're digging deep into medical histories. While talent is paramount, durability is critical in a league where physical attrition is a weekly reality. Several top prospects enter the draft with injury concerns that could affect their stock, especially as teams weigh short-term availability against long-term risk.

At SIC, we’ve analyzed the most notable health-related storylines among top NFL hopefuls, using both medical insight and positional value to assess how injuries could shape their draft outcomes.

Check out the 2026 NFL Draft Injury Guide

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