CLEMSON — When Peter Woods saw the Kansas City Chiefs were coming up with the No. 29 pick in Thursday’s first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, he knew this was his moment.
He was right.
The Chiefs selected the former Clemson defensive tackle with the 29th overall pick, making him the first Clemson defensive lineman selected in the first round since Clelin Ferrell, Christian Wilkins and Dexter Lawrence all went in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
“They talked to me through the whole draft process. They showed interest from the very beginning,” Woods said on Chiefs.com. “So this was something that came as more of a blessing.
“So, like I said, when it came to pick 29, I felt it. I knew it was going to be me.”
Woods heads to Kansas City after earning All-America honors in 2025. He was Clemson’s first Associated Press All-American at defensive tackle since Wilkins in 2018, and he finished his Clemson career with 99 tackles, including 14.5 for loss, five sacks, two forced fumbles and two pass breakups in 35 games.
“[Peter] has just got a unique skill set that’s hard to find,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said in a press release from Clemson Athletic Communications. “He’s powerful, he’s fast, he’s twitchy, he’s unbelievably strong, he’s smart. This kid’s a winner.
“Honestly, he’s probably a guy that could have made a team two years ago, so he’s going to fit right in day one and will be ready to compete.”
Kansas City head coach Andy Reid says Woods reminds him a little of Aaron Donald, who was an All-Pro defensive tackle and Super Bowl Champion for the Los Angeles Rams. Many believe Donald to be one of the greatest defensive tackles to ever play the game and a definite Pro Football Hall of Famer.
When speaking with Kansas City reporters on Thursday night after the Chiefs picked Woods, Reid was asked about Woods and his ability to learn beside All-Pro Chris Jones on the defensive front.
“Yeah, two different-sized guys, but both good athletes,” Reid said. “So, I think that’s what he gives you, that quickness. You can say Aaron Donald-y type quick.”
Those are lofty expectations for a rookie, who was just scratching the surface of his potential when he left Clemson. Woods entered the NFL Draft as a true junior.
“Well, he’s not Aaron Donald yet, right? That’s a good challenge for him,” Reid said. “But he has that ability inside, and you’re seeing, in the league now, guys that maybe aren’t the biggest guys, but they’re extremely quick and have great body control and can rush the passer.
“Shortest distance to the quarterback is those dudes right inside there? And so, he gives you a little bit of that, and we were looking for that, and he’s a great kid.”
Woods is ready for the challenge, and he feels his best football is in front of him.
“I feel like I am a guy on the rise,” he said. “I feel like I am never satisfied and I am never going to be where I want to be. I can probably run off a list of things that you probably think I am great at, but that is just how my mindset is and that is why I am thankful to be able to be here today speaking to you guys.”
- NOTES ON THE SELECTION OF PETER WOODS:
- Woods became the 88th NFL Draft selection in Dabo Swinney’s head coaching tenure (plus an additional Supplemental Draft selection) and the 20th first-round pick of his tenure.
- Woods became the eighth Clemson defensive tackle selected in the first round all-time but the fourth since 2019. He joins Jim Stuckey (1980), Jeff Bryant (1982), William Perry (1985), Chester McGlockton (1992), Christian Wilkins (2019), Dexter Lawrence (2019) and Bryan Bresee (2023) among Clemson first-round defensive tackles.
- Woods became the highest Clemson defensive tackle selected since Bryan Bresee was picked by the New Orleans Saints with an identical No. 29 overall selection in 2023. Woods and Bresee represent Clemson’s only two selections at No. 29 in school history.
- – Woods became the 12th Clemson defensive tackle of the Dabo Swinney era to be selected in the NFL Draft, including Dorell Scott (2009), Jarvis Jenkins (2011), Brandon Thompson (2012), Grady Jarrett (2015), D.J. Reader (2016), Carlos Watkins (2017), Christian Wilkins (2019), Dexter Lawrence (2019), Bryan Bresee (2023), Ruke Orhorhoro (2024) and Tyler Davis (2024). Swinney has produced more NFL Draft picks at defensive tackle than any other active head coach and trails only Nick Saban among all coaches — active or inactive — since the 2009 NFL Draft.
- Woods became the seventh Clemson player selected by the Chiefs all-time, joining RB Jay Washington (1974), QB Steve Fuller (1979), WR Stan Rome (1979), T Barry Richardson (2008), LB Dorian O’Daniel (2018) and WR Cornell Powell (2021).
- Woods became the first interior defensive lineman selected by the Chiefs in the first round of a draft since Kansas City selected two-time Pro Bowler Dontari Poe with the No. 11 overall pick in 2012.
- Woods became the 26th member of Clemson’s defensive front seven to be drafted since the 2015 NFL Draft.