A few Clemson pros are among the top players set to hit the free-agent market in 2026, according to this national outlet.

Pro Football Focus (PFF) recently ranked the top 70 potential free agents to keep tabs on entering next offseason.

Former Clemson wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins landed at No. 14 on the list.

Hopkins, a five-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro, signed a one-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens back in March. In 14 games this season, he has hauled in 18 receptions for 289 yards and two touchdowns.

The 33-year-old Hopkins, who’s now in his 13th NFL campaign in 2025, has amassed 1,002 receptions for 13,254 yards and 85 touchdowns during his Hall of Fame-caliber career with the Houston Texans, Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans, Kansas City Chiefs and Ravens since being selected by Houston in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft (No. 27 overall pick).

“Hopkins has bounced between several teams over the last few years, but his production hasn’t waned,” PFF’s Ben Cooper wrote in late November. “Since the start of 2023, his 86.4 PFF receiving grade is tied for 15th among receivers with 200 or more targets. Likewise, this year with the Ravens, Hopkins has yet to drop a target and has snagged eight of 11 contested opportunities.”

Meanwhile, former Clemson running back Travis Etienne checked in at No. 45 in PFF’s 2026 NFL free agency rankings.

Etienne, a fifth-year pro, is having the best year of his pro career to date — and doing it for a Jacksonville Jaguars team that currently sits atop the AFC South standings with a 10-4 record.

Entering Week 16, Etienne ranks 10th in the NFL with 949 rushing yards, and he’s on pace to surpass his career high in rushing yards (1,125 in 2022). He is also 16th in the league in yards from scrimmage with 1,203 and is averaging 85.9 scrimmage yards per game. He has accounted for 12 total touchdowns (seven rushing, five receiving), tying his career high (12 total touchdowns in 2023).

Etienne is now in the final year of his rookie contract, playing on his fifth-year option after being selected by the Jags with the 25th overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft. After missing his entire 2021 rookie campaign due to a season-ending Lisfranc injury he suffered in that preseason, Etienne has rushed for 3,640 yards and 25 touchdowns on 850 carries in his NFL career to date, while also catching 161 passes for 1,300 yards and six more scores.

“While Etienne hasn’t quite lived up to his first-round billing so far, he is on track to produce his best rushing output in a season in 2025,” Cooper wrote. “Through 12 weeks, he has averaged a career-high 3.33 yards after contact per carry and has earned a PFF rushing grade above 75.0 in three of his four NFL seasons.”

Former Clemson defensive lineman DJ Reader also appears in PFF’s free agency rankings, coming in at No. 57.

The 31-year-old veteran is in his second year with the Detroit Lions in 2025 after signing a two-year deal with team prior to the 2024 campaign.

During his first year in Detroit, Reader started all 15 games he played in, tallying 23 total tackles, four tackles for loss, three sacks, eight quarterback hits and one pass defended. This season, he has started all 14 games, recording 24 total tackles and three quarterback hits.

After being drafted by the Texans in the fifth round (166th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft, Reader spent the first four seasons of his NFL career (2016-19) in Houston before playing four years with the Cincinnati Bengals from 2020-23.

Over his career with the Texans, Bengals and Lions, Reader has posted 324 total tackles, 27 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks to go with 55 quarterback hits, nine passes defended, three fumble recoveries and one forced fumble across 134 games (125 starts).

“Reader hasn’t been able to recreate his form from his days in Houston and Cincinnati, but he has still proven to be a capable interior defensive lineman with the Detroit Lions over the past two seasons,” Cooper wrote. “His 10.6% pass-rush win rate ranks 40th among interior defensive linemen, while his 10 run stops rank 48th. Reader can still be a valuable cog in any team’s interior defensive line rotation moving forward.”

–Photo courtesy of Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images