NFL GM calls Clemson's 2021 defense 'trash' in ESPN article |
In a praise of a promising Clemson star, an NFL general manager offered a shocking critique of the 2021 Tigers defense that the article's author apparently agreed with.
ESPN's Matt Miller published an article on names to know for the 2023 NFL draft and mentioned Trenton Simpson in the group, and that's where things got weird ($): Simpson was the highlight on a poor Clemson defense last season as he emerged as a true three-down threat. He has ideal NFL size, physical traits for the position in terms of speed, agility and length, and has the production to show that he can use those traits on the field. One general manager was candid in his early assessment of Simpson and Clemson. "The Clemson defense was trash last year, but Simpson is that dude. He's going to crush the combine and should be the ACC DPOY. Hopefully they unleash him a little more this year because he can really do it all." In Brent Venables' final campaign as Tigers defensive coordinator, Clemson finished third in yards per play given up (4.44) and eighth in total defense overall. The unit ranked third nationally in ESPN's SP+ metric and fourth in ESPN's Football Power Index defensive rating. In pass efficiency defense, Clemson rated fifth, and against the run, the Tigers surrendered just the seventh-most yards per game. In that defense, Simpson ranked 10th in the ACC with 12 tackles for loss and was among Clemson's leaders with six sacks in his first season as a starter.
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