Clemson’s program draws plenty of praise from NFL personnel
By: Staff Report May 3, 2023

The Clemson football program drew plenty of praise from members of NFL organizations that selected former Tigers in the 2023 NFL Draft.

The first former Clemson standout to come off the board in this year’s draft was defensive end Myles Murphy, who was taken by the Cincinnati Bengals with the 28th overall pick in the first round.

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor believes Murphy will fit right in with the Bengals franchise after spending the last three seasons in the Tigers’ program.

“Went to a place that when you sign up to go play at Clemson, you know you’re competing for championships and the standard’s going to be very high, and that’s our standard here as well,” Taylor said. “We want to compete for championships and we have a very high standard, and we want players that understand that and have been through it before, and we know that Myles has done that.”

Later in this year’s draft, the Baltimore Ravens got what many see as a major steal when former Clemson linebacker Trenton Simpson slipped to the Ravens in the third round (86th overall pick) after he was expected to be selected well before then.

Ravens Director of Player Personnel Joe Hortiz lauded who Simpson is as a person while pointing out how much insight/access the Clemson program provides about its players.

“His character is off the charts,” Hortiz said. “There at Clemson, they rave about him. We get a lot of information from them about their players, and he comes from a great program and a great place. So put everything together, it feels like a good pick.”

Meanwhile, Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay showed love to Dabo Swinney after the Rams selected one of Swinney’s former players that McVay is high on — tight end Davis Allen — in the fifth round with the 175th overall pick.

“Allen was a guy that we had targeted. I got a text right away from Dabo Swinney, who I have tremendous respect for,” McVay said. “This guy’s a complete player.”

–Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images 

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