‘Everything that you want out of a player’: Ex-NFL exec raves about former Clemson DL
By: Staff Report July 12, 2023

The Atlanta Falcons got a major steal when they selected former Clemson defensive lineman Grady Jarrett in the fifth round (137th overall pick) of the 2015 NFL Draft.

Jarrett has certainly made the Falcons happy that they picked him – and former Falcons assistant general manager Scott Pioli was part of the front office staff that decided to bring Jarrett to Atlanta.

Pioli joined NFL Network’s Good Morning Football show and raved about Jarrett when reflecting on the reasons why the Falcons wanted to trade up to get him in the 2015 draft.

“There wasn’t one thing, there was so many things,” Pioli said. “… We were sitting there that year. We were going to be picking at 146 overall. The Vikings were at 137. (Former Falcons GM) Thomas Dimitroff got on the phone, made a deal with (former Vikings GM) Rick Spielman. We jumped up because yes, it was the fifth round, but Grady was a player that we absolutely loved. We loved him on film. I had the chance to not only see him on film, but I was up there at practice at Clemson. Got to see him play there. …

“As we talked more and more about Grady, he was the absolute perfect fit for everything that we wanted as a Falcon. And I’ll tell you, if you’re ever running a football team and you’re a head coach, Grady is everything that you want, absolutely.”

Pioli added that Jarrett was “one of the rare 10 out of 10s” on the Falcons’ psychological report, and Pioli shared the details from that report on Jarrett:

“It says here, ‘Grady Jarrett will set the example for the team for hard work, commitment and excellence. He will not be satisfied with relying on natural ability. Jarrett’s warrior attitude and mental and physical toughness consistently stands out. His ability to focus is a part of his good mental quickness, which will provide significant edge for him in terms of ability to make reads quickly and execute.’”

“That is everything that you want out of a player, everything that you want out of a player that plays that position,” Pioli added. “And there were a lot of people that talked about his height, he’s too short, his physical stature, he’s got short arms – Grady was a ballplayer and a leader, and that’s what we wanted.”

Jarrett, who was also on Good Morning Football, appreciated Pioli’s praise for him.

“That made me feel amazing. Thank you for that,” Jarrett said. “I’m just trying to continue to build on year by year and keep going.”

A two-time Pro Bowler, Jarrett has spent all eight of his NFL seasons playing for the Falcons. In 127 career games, he has racked up 420 total tackles, 66 tackles for loss and 32.5 sacks to go with 106 quarterback hits.

Dear Old Clemson has just added Limited Edition signed Cade Klubnik replica road signs to the online store. Get your highway 2 sign today while supplies last!