For the first time in five years, Clemson did not have a former player selected in the NFL Draft, which began Thursday night in Dallas. However, the Tigers could have as many as eight players chosen over the next two days as the 2018 NFL Draft continues tonight and concludes Saturday.

Former wide receiver Deon Cain and All-American linebacker Dorian O’Daniel are expected to be drafted tonight as the draft picks back with rounds 2 and 3 at seven o’clock. Offensive guard Taylor Hearn and wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud are likely to be drafted on Saturday, when the draft concludes with rounds 4-7.

Offensive guard Tyrone Crowder, safety Van Smith and cornerbacks Marcus Edmond and Ryan Carter are also in the draft pool.

Cain, who caught 130 passes in his career at Clemson, is likely to come off the board first for Clemson. At 6-foot-2, 202 pounds, scouts like his size and speed. Cain ran a 4.43 in the 40 at the combine. Of course his negatives have been his inconsistency in catching the football, something he will definitely want to improve if he hopes to make it at the next level.

This past season, Cain led the Tigers with 734 yards and six touchdown receptions on 58 catches. The Tampa native is expected to come off the board by the end of the second round or early third round.

O’Daniel wowed NFL scouts and general managers at the NFL Scouting Combine back in February. The Tigers’ leading tackler from 2017 showed off his versatility. Though small for an NFL linebacker at 6-foot-1, 220 pounds, O’Daniel showed he is a guy who can stop the run, can blitz off the edge and can over running backs, tight ends and wide receivers in the slot.

“He has defensive back speed and a linebacker mentality,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said.

After putting up the best three-cone and shuttle times at the combine, O’Daniel is expected to be picked in the third round tonight.

“I do like to think I have a lot of speed,” O’Daniel said on the NFL Network’s Good Morning Football earlier this month. “I do have the mentality of a linebacker. I covered slots all season so anytime I had the opportunity to cover a running back or a tight end that was slot work.

“I’m just confident in my ability and knowing my strengths and weaknesses led ultimately to how I played on the field.”

O’Daniel led the Tigers with 104 stops last year, including 11.5 tackles for loss. He also broke up five passes and had two interceptions which he returned for touchdowns.

There have been teams that asked if he could play safety in the NFL, and though O’Daniel feels he can do that, he personally thinks he is a linebacker.

Guys like Jacksonville’s Telvin Smith, Atlanta’s Deon Jones and Tampa’s Kwon Alexander are players he models his game after.

“They give me hope,” O’Daniel said. “So often, smaller linebackers get lost in translation by the way the game is going, but the traditional 250 (pound) linebacker is out the door. The way the league is going with the whole spread offense, you need guys to cover the Gronkowskis and the Travis Kelces, those fast tight ends.

“Me, being an undersized linebacker as people will say, I think I bring that to the table.”