This time last year some wondered if B.J. Goodson would even be a starter at middle linebacker for Clemson’s football team. Kendall Joseph had outperformed the senior in spring training, and was the favorite by the coaching staff to be the starter once the 2015 season began.
But a year later, this one-time unlikely starter from Lamar, S.C., will more than likely be drafted later this week by an NFL team. Goodson is slotted by some of the so-called experts to be drafted in the third or fourth round when the 2016 NFL Draft gets started this Thursday in Chicago.
Goodson is one of six former Tigers, all on defense, that have a chance to be selected in this year’s NFL Draft, joining defensive ends Shaq Lawson and Kevin Dodd, cornerback Mackensie Alexander and safeties T.J. Green and Jayron Kearse.
According to Rotoworld.com Goodson has worked out and visited with 15 NFL teams since Clemson’s Pro Day in March. He has taken visits to Denver, Jacksonville, Miami, the New York Jets and Giants and the Indianapolis Colts.
“I don’t know why there isn’t any more buzz on this guy,” NFL Network Draft Analyst Mike Mayock said. “He is a solid football player with good workouts. I really like him. Trust me, you come to Clemson and you’re looking for athletes, they have them here.”
Goodson led Clemson with 160 tackles as he anchored a defense that ranked 10th in the country and played a huge role in the Tigers’ run to the College Football Playoff Championship Game. At 6-foot-1, 242 pounds, Goodson recorded 5.5 sacks, 14 tackles for loss and 17 quarterback pressures. He also had two interceptions, including one in the Orange Bowl that allowed the Tigers to blow out No. 4 Oklahoma in the second half.
“Clemson’s B.J. Goodson will make some team very happy if they pick him in a middle-round,” wrote The Charlotte Observer’s Jonathan Jones. “He’s an agile defender who racked up 5 1/2 sacks for the Tigers last season.”
Goodson made quiet an impression on scouts during the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis last month. All the middle linebacker did during Clemson’s Pro Day a month later was on-field drills as he showed off his coverage skills. That’s the only real question NFL teams have about the former Tiger, who blew them all away with his versatility, strength and explosion skills during the combine.
He led at linebackers with 30 reps on the bench press and he had among the best times in the 40, the 20-yard shuttle, the 60-yard shuttle and the three-cone drill. His 7.05 in the three-cone was the best in his position group. He also tested well in the vertical and the broad jumps.
Prior to the combine, Goodson was considered a potential late-round guy in the 2016 NFL Draft. However, after his performance at the combine, and what he showed the 95 NFL personnel that were on hand during Clemson’s Pro Day, there is talk he could go as early as the third round.
“Clemson’s B.J. Goodson projects as an early third-day prospect on Saturday who flashed as a run stuffer and pass rusher in his lone year as a starter. He drew the Broncos’ interest to be invited in for a pre-draft visit,” wrote Cameron Wolfe of The Denver Post.
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