This ESPN NFL analyst is really high on a projected first-round pick from Clemson.
Ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft, which is set to get underway with the first round Thursday night, ESPN’s Louis Riddick broke down his favorite prospects in this year’s draft class – players he would try to get if he were in charge of an NFL team, and players he sees as likely stars in the league.
Among the five Day 1 prospects that Riddick named as one of his favorites is former Clemson cornerback Nate Wiggins.
Here’s what Riddick — a Pitt grad who had a six-year career as an NFL safety before spending 12 years as an NFL scout and Director of Pro Personnel — had to say about Wiggins entering the draft:
Long, tall, rangy and competitive with blazing speed and the ability to match any type of receiver. That sums up Wiggins. I’m not worried in the least about his weight — he measured 6-foot-1 and 173 pounds at the combine — as he will get bigger and stronger, and he is already a pure alpha competitor who will not back down against any WR nor shy away from contact as a run defender.
Wiggins can press, he can play off-coverage, he can play zone or he can lock you down in man coverage. He has excellent instincts, and he is really tough to deal with at the catch point thanks to his physicality. I think he is going to be productive the moment he steps on an NFL field for the first time this fall. Over the past two seasons, he has 17 pass breakups and three interceptions.
Wiggins finished his Clemson career credited by the coaching staff with 50 tackles (3.0 for loss), 24 pass breakups, three interceptions, two forced fumbles, a sack and a blocked field goal over 34 games (18 starts) from 2021-23.
As a first-team All-ACC selection last season, Wiggins tallied 25 tackles (one for loss), a team-high nine pass breakups, two forced fumbles, one sack and two interceptions across 10 games (seven starts).
The speedster scored touchdowns of 98 yards (an ACC Championship Game record) and 46 yards on pick-sixes in 2022 and 2023 respectively, becoming the first Clemson player since Rex Varn in 1977-78 to score on an interception return in back-to-back seasons.
Wiggins will soon find out where he’ll be taking his talents at the next level when he hears his name called in the 2024 NFL Draft, which takes place Thursday (Round 1), Friday (Rounds 2-3) and Saturday (Rounds 4-7) in Detroit.
–Photo courtesy of Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
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