Among the NFL draft analysts on hand for the Senior Bowl is ESPN’s Matt Miller, and he gave his biggest takeaway from the three practice sessions at the Senior Bowl from Tuesday to Thursday ahead of Saturday’s game at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Alabama (2:30 p.m., NFL Network).
Miller pegged Clemson defensive end T.J. Parker as the “overall winner” of this year’s Senior Bowl.
Parker has been a big-time standout performer at the Senior Bowl this week while dominating during the practices. It’s widely believed that he’s boosted his stock and put himself squarely back in the first-round conversation ahead of this spring’s draft, which is set to take place from April 23-25 in Pittsburgh.
“There were several standout performances this week — mostly coming from defensive players — but the overall winner of the 2026 Senior Bowl is Clemson edge rusher T.J. Parker,” Miller wrote. “He had middle Round 1 grades before the 2025 season began, but his stock took a dip after his sack total fell from 11 in 2024 to 5.5 last season. But he consistently won against every offensive tackle he faced this week while showing a repertoire of moves. Parker is a true 4-3 defensive end who can win with long arms and power at the point of attack, but this week he showed there’s more juice around the edge than formerly expected.
“Linebackers Kyle Louis (Pittsburgh) and Jacob Rodriguez (Texas Tech), safety Bud Clark (TCU) and defensive tackle Lee Hunter (Texas Tech) all had good weeks in Mobile that will elevate their stock, but Parker put himself into the first round.”
NFL Network draft analyst and former NFL scout Daniel Jeremiah also named Parker as one of the Senior Bowl standouts who helped themselves during the week.
“Parker has helped himself a lot in Mobile,” Jeremiah wrote. “His play slipped last season, and his production told the story, with his sack total going from 11 in 2024 to five in 2025. He had a monster week here, though. No one was able to block his long-arm move in Mobile. Parker has put himself in the first-round mix.”
Parker joined NFL Network insiders Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo for an interview from the Senior Bowl and discussed the question he’s been asked by NFL teams about his dip in production from his sophomore 2024 season to his junior 2025 campaign – saying it’s because of the better talent that was around him this past season.
“I think the first question was what happened to my production from my sophomore to junior year, and it’s simple,” Parker said. “My junior year, I was surrounded by a lot greater talent. A lot of those guys made plays, including in my defensive end room. We added Will Heldt, and guys like Jahiem Lawson, Cade Denhoff really improved. And those plays that they didn’t make last year [the 2024 season], they made this year [the 2025 season].
“So, with the focus being on me a lot gameplan-wise coming into this year, it allowed them to make plays, and I’m happy for those guys. The opportunities I did get, I made them, and as the season went on, I continued to play better.”
A 2023 freshman All-American and 2024 All-ACC selection, Parker piled up 144 tackles (41.5 for loss), 21.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, six fumble recoveries and five pass breakups over 39 games (29 starts) in his Clemson career from 2023-25. He leaves Tigertown ranked 10th in career sacks and tied for fourth in career fumble recoveries, and he set the Clemson record for forced fumbles in a single season with six in 2024.
In 2025, the 6-foot-3, 260-pounder was credited with 39 tackles (9.5 for loss), five sacks, two pass breakups and a team-high three fumble recoveries across 12 games (all starts). He finished the regular season with a flourish, as he was named ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week after collecting four tackles (3.0 for loss), three sacks and a fumble recovery in the rivalry finale at South Carolina.