Ahead of the 2026 NFL season, CBS Sports spotlighted 50 “under-the-radar players who could shape” the campaign.

Several former Clemson Tigers made the list – offensive guard John Simpson of the Baltimore Ravens, defensive tackle D.J. Reader of the New York Giants, defensive end Myles Murphy of the Cincinnati Bengals, and safety Andrew Mukuba of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Simpson is ranked No. 23 on the list, under the category of “known face, new place.”

Simpson returned to the Ravens this offseason on a reported three-year, $30 million deal. He previously spent the 2023 season with the Ravens.

Simpson, 28, has spent the last two seasons with the New York Jets after signing a two-year deal with the team ahead of the 2024 season. He earned one of the Jets’ in-house awards as the team’s “Selfless Warrior” after the 2024 season. The 6-4, 330-pounder started all 34 games for New York over the last two years.

A fourth-round pick of the Raiders in the 2020 NFL Draft (109th overall), Simpson played the first three seasons of his NFL career in Las Vegas. The former All-American at Clemson started 18 total games for the Raiders in 2021 but was mostly a reserve for the team in 2022, starting only a couple of games.

After being released by the Raiders in December 2022, Simpson was signed by Baltimore shortly thereafter. He ended up starting all 17 regular season games for the Ravens in 2023, along with each of their two postseason games, and he played more than 1,000 total snaps that season while being a consistent presence up front for the league’s No. 1 rushing offense (156.5 yards per game).

“Simpson is returning to Baltimore after playing there in 2023 and spending the last two years with the Jets,” CBS Sports’ Zachary Pereles wrote. “He was very good in 2024 but just OK in 2025 — though the Jets’ offense as a whole was a mess. The Ravens hope Simpson and first-round pick Olaivavega Ioane provide major upgrades at the guard spots.”

Meanwhile, Reader came in at No. 30 on the CBS Sports list and is in the same category as Simpson.

Reader signed with the Giants this offseason. It’s reportedly a two-year, $12.5 million deal where he can make up to $15.5 million through incentives. He will make $6.25 million this season if he plays in 17 games. The signing came after the Giants traded away former Clemson star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Bengals in April.

Reader, 32, has spent the last two seasons with the Detroit Lions after signing a two-year deal with the team in March 2024.

After being drafted by the Houston Texans in the fifth round (166th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft, Reader spent the first four seasons of his NFL career (2016-19) in Houston before playing four years with the Bengals from 2020-23 and then the past two with the Lions.

During his first year in Detroit in 2024, Reader started all 15 games he played in, tallying 23 total tackles, four tackles for loss, three sacks, eight quarterback hits and one pass defended. In 2025, the 6-foot-3, 330-pounder started all 17 games for the Lions, recording 28 total tackles and four quarterback hits.

Over his 10-year NFL career, Reader has posted 328 total tackles, 27 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks to go with 56 quarterback hits, nine passes defended, three fumble recoveries and one forced fumble across 137 games (128 starts).

“For all the excitement surrounding Year 1 of John Harbaugh, Year 2 of Jaxson Dart and two first-round picks, the Giants still need to figure out a way to stop getting run all over; last year, they allowed an NFL-worst 5.3 yards per carry,” Pereles wrote. “They traded Dexter Lawrence away and didn’t find a replacement in the draft. Instead, the interior of the defensive line features Reader and other veterans.”

As for Murphy, he is ranked No. 42, under the category of players in the trenches.

The edge rusher is entering his fourth professional season after being selected by the Bengals in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft with the No. 28 overall pick. Over his first two seasons with Cincinnati, he was used in a reserve role, but last season, he took a big step forward and started to realize some of his potential.

The 6-foot-5, 275-pounder started 10 of 17 games and tallied more defensive snaps (682) for the Bengals last season than he did over his first two years combined (658). He recorded a career-high 5.5 sacks after recording only three total sacks across his first two seasons, and according to Pro Football Focus, he had a career-high 41 pressures and led the Bengals with 31 hurries.

Though the Bengals chose not to pick up their fifth-year option on Murphy, meaning he is entering the final year of his rookie deal in 2026, Cincinnati is reportedly still interested in keeping him around for the long haul.

According to the Bengals’ official website in late April, Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin indicated that “Murphy’s case is about salary cap flexibility more than anything else,” and “the team views Murphy’s career trajectory rising after last year’s breakout season saw him lead the team in sacks with 5.5.”

Murphy, 24, is set to make $4 million in 2026. Had the Bengals exercised the fifth-year option, he would have been guaranteed $14.475 million for the 2027 season.

A former blue-chip recruit, Murphy played three seasons at Clemson after signing with the Tigers in December 2019. Durability wasn’t an issue with Murphy, who played in all but one of the Tigers’ 39 games after arriving on campus. He finished his college career with 139 tackles (37 for loss), 17.5 sacks, six forced fumbles and six pass breakups, while earning Freshman All-America honors in 2020, a second-team All-ACC selection in 2021 and first-team All-ACC honors in 2022.

“Murphy quietly, finally started delivering on his first-round status over the second half of last season,” Pereles wrote. “As a full-time starter from Week 9 onward, he had four sacks and a 13.4% pressure rate, well above his career rate of 10.4%. The Bengals added many pieces to their defense, but Murphy putting it all together would be a major development. It’s also a big year for him after the Bengals declined his fifth-year option.”

Mukuba rounds out the CBS Sports list at No. 50, under the category of “supporting a star.”

Mukuba was selected by Philadelphia in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft (No. 64 overall pick). The 5-foot-11, 186-pounder was enjoying a strong rookie campaign last year, tallying 46 total tackles, two tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, three passes defended and two interceptions across 11 games (10 starts). Unfortunately, he was forced to undergo surgery after suffering a season-ending injury in the Eagles’ loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Nov. 23.

Mukuba spent three seasons at Clemson from 2021-23 before transferring back home to Texas for his fourth and final college campaign.

“Mukuba plays with reckless abandon, aggressively going after anyone with the ball in his hands,” Pereles wrote. “Unfortunately, his rookie year ended prematurely after a friendly-fire collision resulted in a fractured ankle and fibula. Philadelphia is counting on the 2025 second-rounder to shine after losing Reed Blankenship in free agency.”