Stay or go? What Clemson players said about looming NFL Draft decisions
It’s stay-or-go season for Clemson’s roster.
Heading into Saturday’s regular-season finale at South Carolina, the Tigers (6-5) have a number of juniors with remaining eligibility who must soon decide whether they’ll enter the 2026 NFL Draft early or come back for another year.
Clemson junior defensive tackle Peter Woods, defensive end T.J. Parker and cornerback Avieon Terrell are all widely considered first-round NFL Draft prospects, while junior transfer defensive end Will Heldt has also picked up some buzz.
Clemson already has one player who’s made his intentions clear: Redshirt junior receiver Antonio Williams announced Saturday he’s going pro after this season.
But other players are being more coy.
“No,” Parker said Tuesday, when asked if he’d made his NFL decision yet. “I’ll decide later on, try to figure it out. Right now I’m just trying to focus on beating USC. And I’ve got some time after that to think about it.”
Who will be part of that decision-making process for Parker, recently projected as a late first-round pick by CBS Sports (No. 23 to 49ers) and ESPN (No. 18 to Lions)?
“Just my family,” Parker said. “Whatever is best for me personally, they’ll align with me and that’ll ultimately decide my decision. But right now I’m not trying too much to think about it. Trying to put my focus on USC.”
Heldt had a similar answer Tuesday when asked about his decision-making process. The Purdue transfer leads Clemson with 12.5 tackles for loss and 6.0 sacks.
“Yeah, I think there’ll be time for that moving forward,” Heldt said Tuesday of considering the NFL Draft. “But I’m just focused on South Carolina.”
Woods and Terrell were not available to speak to the media Tuesday.
Why going pro might not be a slam dunk for some players
Parker and Heldt may be Clemson’s two most compelling juniors in this regard. Parker (6-3, 260) has two sacks in 11 games this season after recording 11 sacks in 14 games last year, and his tackles for loss have dropped from 19.5 to 6.5.
A drop in production has seemingly led to a drop in Parker’s draft stock, with The Athletic NFL Draft expert Dane Brugler saying earlier this fall Parker and Woods were “on notice” with pro scouts after a slow start to the 2025 season.
Woods and Terrell are considered almost certain NFL departures. Terrell’s had a strong season at cornerback, and Woods’ drop in production hasn’t hurt his stock too much. CBS Sports had him as the No. 2 overall pick to the Giants last week.
It gets a bit more interesting with Parker, who is already one of the highest-paid players on Clemson’s roster and could theoretically boost his stock with a bounce-back senior season.
Same for Heldt (6-6, 260), who has been Clemson’s most productive defensive end this season and has competed admirably, to the point where he has an NFL decision to make. But could another year as the guy serve him well?
Then again, NFL money is life-changing money.
There’s also bowl game implications. In recent years, Clemson players who’ve declared for the draft after the regular season and before the bowl game have opted out of the bowl: DE Myles Murphy ahead of the 2022 Orange Bowl and LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and CB Nate Wiggins ahead of the 2023 Gator Bowl.
Other Clemson players, such as DT Bryan Bresee in 2022 and RB Will Shipley in 2023, have competed in that year’s bowl game before making their NFL decision.
Per the NFL’s calendar, the early deadline for college underclassmen to declare for the NFL Draft is Jan. 6, and the hard deadline for those underclassmen is Jan. 14.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said he has a good sense of where those players’ heads are at heading into their season finale at USC, with a bowl game looming.
“I’m not gonna steal anybody’s thunder on whether they’re coming back or leaving,” Swinney said Tuesday. “I mean, I think we’ll have both of those (happen).”
2025 Clemson vs. South Carolina football game
- Who: Clemson (6-5) at South Carolina (4-7)
- When: noon Saturday
- Where: Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia
- TV: SEC Network
- Betting line: South Carolina by 2.5 points
