The final word on Isaiah Simmons and Clemson’s NFL Draft hopefuls
The NFL Draft begins Thursday night and several Clemson players are expected to hear their names called.
Here is a final projection of where Isaiah Simmons, Tee Higgins, A.J. Terrell, K’Von Wallace and Clemson’s other draft hopefuls could land.
Isaiah Simmons
The word from NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah: “He’s a special athlete and gives you so much flexibility as a defensive coordinator. ... I do know there’s some talk around the league of, ‘Man, we don’t want to ask this kid to do too much. You want to let him focus in one area.’ But I think with what he did at Clemson doing all those different things, that’s where the value comes from is his ability to move all over the field and play those different roles.”
Where he’s projected:
▪ 4th to New York (CBS)
▪ 7th to Carolina (NFL.com)
▪ 8th to Arizona (WalterFootball.com)
▪ 7th to Carolina (The Athletic)
▪ Rating in The Athletic draft guide: 1st rounder
▪ Rating in CBS overall prospect rankings: No. 3
A.J. Terrell
The word from ESPN’s Mel Kiper: “Terrell is a guy who has got decent length, very athletic. He has good recovery ability. And when you have decent arm length, you recover, you can break up passes that guys with shorter arms couldn’t. He had that hiccup late (against LSU), but you can’t go by one game. One game can’t determine a player’s fate. Everybody has a disappointing game here and there. But I think in terms of the overall grade, it’s late first, early second for me.”
Where he’s projected:
▪ 32nd to Kansas City (CBS)
▪ 19th to Las Vegas (NFL.com)
▪ 22nd to Minnesota (WalterFootball.com)
▪ 19th to Las Vegas (The Athletic)
▪ Rating in The Athletic draft guide: 2nd rounder
▪ Rating in CBS overall prospect rankings: No. 25
Tee Higgins
Kiper: “He ran pretty good at his pro day (4.54/4.56). It was one of the last pro days that happened. Obviously you would have liked to see him be a little more physical in those final two playoff games, but Higgins is probably right now to me at 4 (as far as receivers).”
Where he’s projected:
▪ 34th, 2th round, to Indianapolis (CBS)
▪ 71st, 3rd round, to Los Angeles Chargers (NFL.com)
▪ 48th, 2th round, to New York Jets (WalterFootball.com)
▪ 52nd, 2nd round, to Los Angeles Rams (The Athletic)
▪ Rating in The Athletic draft guide: 2nd rounder
▪ Rating in CBS overall prospect rankings: No. 35
K’Von Wallace
The word from Senior Bowl executive director and ESPN analyst Jim Nagy: “K’Von actually got hurt between the national championship game and coming to Mobile (for the Senior Bowl). He started to train a little bit after the championship game and tweaked a hamstring. He came here and rather than shutting himself down he really wanted to practice. ... He padded up and went through some drills and it was really tightening up on him. We just decided don’t push it, don’t get to the point where you can’t go to the Combine and do your thing. I love K’Von’s toughness. He’s kind of got that overachiever mindset to him. He’s going to be a really good NFL player, safety, nickel. Really versatile guy.
Where he’s projected:
▪ 146th, 4th round, to Philadelphia (CBS)
▪ 53rd, 2rd round, to Philadelphia (NFL.com)
▪ 139th, 4th round, to New England (WalterFootball.com)
▪ 118th, 4th round, to Denver (The Athletic)
▪ Rating in The Athletic draft guide: 4th-5th rounder
▪ Rating in CBS overall prospect rankings: No. 105
John Simpson
Nagy: “Simpson did a great job at guard (at the Senior Bowl), really did a nice job of holding his own in those one-on-ones. Those drills are really set up for defensive linemen to win, and John did a nice job. Unfortunately he got hurt at the very tail end of practice on Thursday so he couldn’t play in the game, which was unfortunate. But he looked good in the practices.”
Where he’s projected:
▪ 81st, 3rd round, to Las Vegas (CBS)
▪ 206th, 6th round, to Jacksonville (NFL.com)
▪ 140th, 4th round, to Jacksonville (WalterFootball.com)
▪ 81st, 3rd round, to Las Vegas (The Athletic)
▪ Rating in The Athletic draft guide: 3rd round
▪ Rating in CBS overall prospect rankings: No. 167
Tanner Muse
Nagy: “He crushed the Combine. I think the biggest thing for Tanner is making that transition to linebacker full time. I don’t think many people see him in the league as a safety, but as a linebacker/special teams player, he did what you have to do, and that’s run fast. He ran well in Indy and really opened a lot of eyes that way. ... I was happy to see that he tested like he did because that helped him significantly.”
Where he’s projected:
▪ 151st, 5th round, to Los Angeles Chargers (CBS)
▪ 148th, 5th round, to Carolina (NFL.com)
▪ 209th, 6th round, to Green Bay (WalterFootball.com)
▪ 159th, 5th round, to Las Vegas (The Athletic)
▪ Rating in The Athletic draft guide: 4th-5th round
▪ Rating in CBS overall prospect rankings: 243rd
Tremayne Anchrum
Nagy: “He stayed and he interviewed and did a really nice job (after being injured and unable to participate in Senior Bowl). He’s got a great personality. He’s a fun kid to be around. He got something out of being down here because he really connected with a lot of teams..”
Where he’s projected:
▪ 208th, 6th round, to Green Bay (CBS)
▪ 212th, 6th round, to New England (The Athletic)
▪ Rating in The Athletic draft guide: 6th round
▪ Rating in CBS overall prospect rankings: No. 262
Other names to watch
Wide receiver Diondre Overton, offensive lineman Gage Cervenka, offensive lineman Sean Pollard, linebacker Chad Smith, safety Denzel Johnson
