Entering his third year at Clemson in 2026, Clemson’s Ashton Hampton is highly regarded as one of the top cornerback prospects for next year’s NFL Draft.
The Athletic’s lead NFL Draft analyst, Dane Brugler, released his preseason 2027 NFL Draft positional rankings for cornerbacks, and he ranked Hampton as the No. 3 prospect at his position heading into the upcoming season.
A rangy athlete, Hampton is credited with 77 tackles (3.5 for loss), 17 pass breakups, three interceptions, including a pick-six, and a sack over 27 games across his first two years at Clemson.
The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder broke out during his freshman campaign in 2024, when he appeared in all 14 games, made four starts, and earned Freshman All-America honors after tallying 30 tackles (0.5 for loss), six pass breakups and two interceptions, including one he returned 53 yards for a touchdown.
“Hampton first landed on my radar during his freshman season, while I was studying Clemson’s 2024 tape against Virginia Tech,” Brugler wrote. “Playing tight man-to-man on the outside, he snagged a one-handed interception that made me sit up in my seat. Recruited as more of an ‘athlete’ out of high school, some thought Hampton might stay on offense as a wide receiver or move to safety, but he found his home at corner.
“Since 2020, Clemson has produced four cornerbacks drafted in the top 50. With his length and his explosive skill set, Hampton should be next.”
Hampton followed up his debut season with a strong sophomore season in 2025, locking down a key role in the secondary. He recorded 47 tackles (three for loss), a sack, an interception and 11 pass breakups while starting all 13 of Clemson’s games.
Brugler identified Hampton’s “eager, disruptive hands” as his best trait.
“Hampton is a big athlete who is as physical as he is explosive. That’s a good starting point for a cornerback prospect,” Brugler wrote. “He is at his best near the line of scrimmage, where he can unlock and drive in the quick game or ride receivers from press man, using his violent hands to reroute his opponent.
“Although he doesn’t get credit in the box score for this turnover, Hampton created the interception using forceful hands to overwhelm the receiver early and disrupt the catch point.”
As for the area in which Hampton needs to improve moving forward, Brugler says it’s his “grabby tendencies.”
“His eagerness to get hands on receivers is among his strengths, but that means Hampton must walk a fine line to avoid penalties,” Brugler wrote. “He will need to adjust to NFL receivers, who will force him to use his handsy play style as more of a crutch to stay connected.”
Before enrolling at Clemson in the summer of 2024, Hampton was rated as a four-star recruit and was ranked by On3 as the No. 22 prospect in its “athlete” designation.
He played both ways in high school as a DB and receiver, finishing his prep career at Florida State University High School (Tallahassee, Fla.) with 115 receptions for 1,797 yards and 21 touchdowns while also notching 92 career tackles, 10 tackles for loss and six interceptions over his 43 games.
Another Clemson corner – Elliot Washington II – is ranked by Brugler as the 22nd-best cornerback prospect for next year’s NFL Draft.
Washington transferred to Clemson this offseason after spending three seasons at Penn State. He played under former Nittany Lions and current Clemson defensive coordinator Tom Allen in 2024, and as a junior last season, he appeared in 12 games, totaling 18 tackles, an interception and three pass breakups, in addition to scoring on a 35-yard return of a blocked field goal at Iowa.
Overall, in his time at Penn State, Washington collected 53 tackles (1.5 for loss), two interceptions and nine pass breakups over 36 games, including one start.
He was a four-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting class out of Venice (Fla.) High School, and was touted as the No. 54 overall prospect in the country for his recruiting class by ESPN.
The 2027 NFL Draft is scheduled to be held in Washington, D.C. in April 2027.