The earliest of the five Tennessee players who were selected in the 2026 NFL Draft has officially signed his first professional contract with his new team. New York Giants second-round pick Colton Hood, selected with the No. 37 overall pick after his one All-SEC season with the Vols, inked his four-year rookie deal, the team announced on Tuesday. Hood was on the field for his first NFL practices over the weekend when the Giant held their rookie minicamp.
According to financial figures from Over The Cap, the estimated value of Hood’s four-year rookie deal as a top-40 overall pick is $12,950,010, which includes a guaranteed signing bonus worth $5,878,188.
Hood joins third-round wide receiver Chris Brazzell II (Carolina Panthers), fifth-round outside linebacker Joshua Josephs (Washington Commanders) and seventh-round defensive lineman Tyre West (Detroit Lions) as the Tennessee draft picks who have signed their rookie deals and leaves fellow cornerback Jermod McCoy, a fourth-round pick of the Las Vegas Raiders, as the only unsigned VFL.
The 6-foot, 195-pound Hood is wearing No. 12 for the Giants after wearing No. 8 at Tennessee in 2025, No. 3 at Colorado in 2024 and No. 24 at Auburn in 2023.
After his spring transfer, Hood was excellent as a redshirt sophomore for the Vols, earning All-SEC honors after totaling 50 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and eight pass breakups. He became the first SEC player since 2019 to return both a fumble and an interception for touchdowns in the same season. Hood was one of the highest-graded coverage cornerbacks in the SEC as well per Pro Football Focus.
He was widely projected as a first-round pick after a strong draft process, but slid five picks into the second round to the Giants and head coach John Harbaugh, who is taking over in New York after a successful 18-year run with the Baltimore Ravens.
“Colton, if you look at the beginning of the year, he wasn’t a guy that was coming into this college season with a lot of hype,” Giants assistant general manager Brandon Brown said Saturday, “and a big credit to him is the work that our on college department did with him. … We were down in Atlanta, (assistant director of player personnel) Dennis Hickey and myself, see him play against Syracuse, right? He is a guy that’s not really on the map going into that game.
“Our college scouts, Jeremy (Breit) and Pat (Hanscomb), they outline, ‘Hey, this guy is a double transfer. He’s coming from Auburn, Colorado. He’s got an excellent baseball background. He’s a three-time all-state centerfielder in the state of Georgia. This guy has really good ball skills. He can run. Be aware of him game one.’ We see him game one. He becomes SEC Defensive Player of the Week that week. Now we come back in the office and tell (general manager) Joe (Schoen). Joe already has a feel for him. You get to Senior Bowl. (Director of player personnel) Tim McDonnell sees him live. Coach sees him. Coach likes him. Coach has experience with his uncle, Rod Hood, and there’s a familiarity there.
“We’re not even getting into April meetings yet, and we already know who this guy is. I think from the clarity of the vision that Harbs has painted and us executing the vision and taking the big ocean of players and narrowing it down in that funnel to the guys who fit us. Not what plays for the league, but what it’s going to be for us and lend to our identity.”
Hood made a quick impression with his new team, recording an interception during a minicamp practice on Saturday.
“Hood, loved him in press,” Harbaugh said. “He was at press corner. He was playing press out there with the other corners. He looked really good. You saw him make a couple of plays. How about the interception in two-minute? That was a nice play. He was good. He was good and diligent the whole time.”
Hood was the highest drafted Tennessee defensive back since Eric Berry went No. 5 overall to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2010.