Record-Tying Draft for Clemson Football
By: Will Vandervort April 26, 2026

CLEMSON — By the end of the fifth round of this weekend’s 2026 NFL Draft, Clemson Football had already tied its record for the most selections in a seven-round draft. It ultimately ended that way, as the 2026 class tied the Tigers’ 2016 class for the most picks in the modern NFL Draft.

The overall Clemson record for an NFL Draft is 10 selections, which happened in 1983, when 12 Tigers were taken in the 12-round draft.

Clemson’s nine selections in the 2026 NFL Draft tied for the most in the ACC and tied for fourth nationally.

All nine of Clemson’s selections came in the first five rounds, and Clemson’s nine selections tied Ohio State for the most across Rounds 1-5. The nine selections in those five rounds shattered Clemson’s record for the first five rounds of a draft, surpassing its previous mark of six in the 1991, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2023 drafts.

The 2026 NFL Draft also marked the first time in history Clemson had at least one player selected in each of the first five rounds of a single draft.

Day 3 of the draft commenced with two Tigers coming off the board in the fourth round. Quarterback Cade Klubnik became the sixth Clemson quarterback drafted since 1979 when the New York Jets selected the two-time ACC Championship Game MVP with the No. 110 overall pick.

Thirteen picks later, the Houston Texans added linebacker Wade Woodaz with the No. 123 overall selection, marking the fifth consecutive year Clemson has had a linebacker drafted.

Two more Tigers heard their names called in the fifth round.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected defensive tackle DeMonte Capehart with the No. 155 overall selection, giving the Tigers three defensive line selections in a draft for the fifth time in the last 11 years.

Clemson then had a running back selected for the third straight year when the Baltimore Ravens selected Adam Randall with the No. 174 overall pick. The selection of Randall represented the first time in Clemson history that nine different teams came away with at least one Clemson draft pick in a single draft.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney brought his career total of draft selections to 95 (plus an additional Supplemental Draft pick), the most of any active coach since the 2009 NFL Draft. He has produced a pick for 28 of the 32 NFL teams during his head coaching career.

Swinney also pushed his total of first-round picks to 20, as he and Kirby Smart are now the only active coaches in the nation to have produced 20 or more first-round draft picks in their head coaching careers. 

  • CLEMSON 2026 NFL DRAFT CLASS
  • Round 1, No. 17 Overall: OT Blake Miller (Detroit Lions)
  • Round 1, No. 29 Overall: DT Peter Woods (Kansas City Chiefs)
  • Round 2, No. 35 Overall: DE T.J. Parker (Buffalo Bills)
  • Round 2, No. 48 Overall: CB Avieon Terrell (Atlanta Falcons)
  • Round 3, No. 71 Overall: WR Antonio Williams (Washington Commanders)
  • Round 4, No. 110 Overall: QB Cade Klubnik (New York Jets)
  • Round 4, No. 123 Overall: LB Wade Woodaz (Houston Texans)
  • Round 5, No. 155 Overall: DT DeMonte Capehart (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
  • Round 5, No. 174 Overall: RB Adam Randall (Baltimore Ravens)
  • NOTES ON CLEMSON’S 2026 NFL DRAFT:
  • All nine of Clemson’s selections came in the first five rounds. Clemson’s nine selections tied Ohio State for the most across Rounds 1-5.
  • Clemson, 2025 national champion Indiana and Florida were the only programs to produce a pick in each of the first five rounds.
  • Clemson has now had at least one player selected in 24 consecutive drafts since 2003, tying the school record set across the 1951-74 NFL Drafts. Every year in the current streak has come during a seven-round format; the streak from 1951-74 featured between 17 and 30 rounds. 
  • The 2026 NFL Draft marked the ninth time that Clemson has produced multiple first-round picks in a single draft. The school record of three was set in 2019, and the 2026 haul tied the 1979, 1982, 2015, 2017, 2020, 2021 and 2023 drafts (two each) for second in school annals. 
  • Clemson was one of nine schools to produce multiple first-round picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, alongside Alabama, Arizona State, Indiana, Miami (Fla.), Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon and Utah.
  • Clemson has now had at least one first-round draft choice in 11 of the last 14 years, standing alongside Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Ohio State as the only programs to produce a first-round pick in at least 11 of the last 14 years.
  • Since 2013, Clemson has produced at least one first-round pick from each of the QB, RB, WR, OL, DE, DT, LB and DB position groups. The only other schools with at least one first-rounder at all those positions in that span are Alabama and Ohio State.
  • Clemson is one of only six schools to have produced multiple draft picks in each of the last 24 NFL Drafts (LSU, Michigan, Oklahoma, Ohio State and USC). 
  • Dabo Swinney brought his career total of draft selections to 95 (plus an additional Supplemental Draft pick), the most of any active coach since the 2009 NFL Draft. He also pushed his total of first-round picks to 20, as he and Kirby Smart are now the only active coaches in the nation to have produced 20 or more first-round draft picks in their head coaching careers.
  • Clemson has now had at least three selections in 17 of the 18 drafts since Dabo Swinney was elevated to head coach. The only programs to produce three or more picks in at least 17 drafts in that span are Clemson, Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma, LSU and USC.
  • Clemson has now produced multiple defensive draft picks in 15 of the 18 drafts of the Swinney era. Clemson, LSU, Alabama, Ohio State and Georgia are the only programs to produce multiple draft picks from their defenses in at least 15 drafts in that span.
  • With two picks in Round 1 on Day 1 and three picks in Rounds 2-3 on Day 2, Clemson set a school record with five picks through the first three rounds of a draft. Clemson’s previous record of four was accomplished five times in 1991, 2016, 2019, 2020 and 2021.
  • With the selections of Peter Woods in Round 1 and T.J. Parker in Round 2, Clemson had multiple defensive linemen selected in the first two rounds of a draft for the fifth time since the institution of the Common Draft in 1967 (2011, 2016, 2019, 2023 and 2026).
  • Clemson produced three top-50 picks from its defense in a single draft for the first time since 2019, when Clelin Ferrell, Christian Wilkins, Dexter Lawrence and Trayvon Mullen were all selected in the first 40 picks. Clemson, Ohio State and Texas Tech were the only defenses to accomplish the feat in 2026.
  • Clemson was one of five schools to produce five top-75 picks (Ohio State, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Miami.
  • Clemson produced four offensive draft picks and five defensive draft picks. The 2026 NFL Draft marked the second time in school history (and first time in a seven-round format) that Clemson has had at least four selections on each side of the ball in a single draft. Clemson had six offensive players and four defensive players selected in a 12-round draft in 1983.
  • Nine different teams selected a Clemson player, surpassing the previous single-draft school record of eight. Eight different teams accounted for Clemson’s 10 picks in 1983 and its nine picks in 2016.
  • Clemson has had at least one player chosen by 30 of the 32 NFL franchises since 2003. The lone exceptions in that time frame are the Patriots, who last selected a Tiger in 1991, and the Panthers, who have never selected a Clemson player despite playing their first season in franchise history in Death Valley.
  • Swinney has produced a draft pick for 28 of the 32 NFL teams in his head coaching tenure; the only NFL teams not to select a Clemson player in his head coaching tenure are the Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers.

–Clemson Athletic Communications Contributed to this story