ESPN released its latest 2026 NFL Draft intel, questions and notes through Week 14 of the college football season — including how to assess Clemson edge rusher T.J. Parker’s big performance against South Carolina.
In last Saturday’s 28-14 win over the Gamecocks, Parker had a fumble recovery — his career-high third of the season and sixth of his career. In addition to the fumble recovery, Parker finished the game with a season-high 3.0 sacks among his four tackles – the second-most sacks in a game in his career, one shy of his 4.0 at Pitt in 2024.
Parker has routinely been projected to be a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, though after posting 5.5 sacks as a freshman and 11 a season ago, he now has just five sacks in 2025, to go along with 9.5 tackles for loss. He had 19.5 tackles for loss last season and 12.5 as a freshman.
So, can Parker still work his way back to being selected in the top half of the first round in next year’s NFL Draft?
ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid weighed in on that question:
“Parker entered the season as one of the premiere defensive prospects in this class — but like his Clemson team, he underperformed and slid a little bit on draft boards. I had him at No. 32 overall in my rankings two weeks ago. However, Parker saved his best game for his last one of the regular season, cleaning up with three sacks against South Carolina. We saw many of the traits that had evaluators excited about his potential — including impressive power — but the question remains: Where was this production earlier in the season? Parker had just two sacks over his first 11 games. (He had 11 in 14 games last season.)
“I have Parker graded as a fringe Round 1 player, and he still needs to improve his arsenal of pass-rush moves. The 6-foot-3, 265-pounder is undoubtedly one of the best run defenders in this crop of edge rushers, as his hand power allows him to aggressively set the edge. And while Parker is still outside the top tier of pass rushers — which includes Arvell Reese (Ohio State), Keldric Faulk (Auburn) and David Bailey(Texas Tech) — a strong predraft process could push his stock back toward top-20 consideration.”
After the South Carolina game, Parker said he is still contemplating whether he will return to Clemson next year or move on after this season.
“Everybody wants to know what I’m gonna do. When that time comes, I’ll announce it, if I’m going to stay or I’m going to go,” Parker said. “Still thinking about it. So, just trying to enjoy this win right now and celebrate with my teammates and get better.”
Parker entered the 2025 season credited with 105 tackles (32.0 for loss), 16.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and three pass breakups over 27 career games (17 starts) from 2023-24.
With his 3.0 sacks against South Carolina, Parker (21.5) passed Chester McGlockton (20.5 from 1989-91) for the 10th-most career sacks in Clemson history. He joined Vic Beasley (two) as the only players in the Dabo Swinney era to record multiple career games with 3.0 or more sacks.