Three Tigers picked in final NFL draft rounds |
CLEMSON, S.C. — Defensive end K.J. Henry, offensive lineman
Jordan McFadden and tight end
Davis Allen were all selected on Day 3 of the 2023 NFL Draft on Saturday, giving Clemson six total selections over the three-day draft. Clemson’s six selections in 2023 tied for the most in the ACC and tied for fifth among all programs.
Each of Clemson’s Day 3 selections came in the fifth round. The Washington Commanders selected Henry with the No. 137 overall pick. The Los Angeles Chargers selected McFadden with the No. 156 overall selection, and the Los Angeles Rams added Allen at pick No. 175. Including earlier selections of defensive end Myles Murphy, defensive tackle Bryan Bresee and linebacker Trenton Simpson, Clemson’s six total selections in the 2023 NFL Draft tied for its third-most since the NFL adopted the seven-round format in 1994. Clemson was particularly prolific among its defensive front seven, as Clemson’s defensive line and linebackers accounted for each of the program’s first four picks in a draft for the first time in program history. The six selections pushed Dabo Swinney’s career total of draft picks produced during his head coaching tenure to 77, the second-most of any coach in the country since the 2009 NFL Draft. That total includes 17 first-round picks, second-most of any active coach, and he has had at least one player drafted by 28 of the 32 active NFL franchises in that span. As the six draft picks head to their new teams and a number of other Clemson prospects become priority undrafted free agents, Clemson’s returning squad continues to prepare for its 2023 campaign. Ticket information for fans wishing to witness Swinney’s chase of Frank Howard’s school record for career head coaching wins is available at ClemsonTigers.com/FootballTickets. In addition to early-season non-conference contests against Charleston Southern and Florida Atlantic, Clemson’s 2023 home slate includes marquee ACC games against Florida State, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech and North Carolina as well as Notre Dame’s first visit to Death Valley since 2015. CLEMSON DRAFT NOTES CLEMSON NOTES: – Clemson produced six selections, marking the 15th time Clemson has produced at least a half-dozen selections in an NFL Draft. It was the seventh such draft under Head Coach Dabo Swinney. – The six selections are tied for fifth-most in a draft in school history, trailing the 1983 (10), 2016 (nine), 1991 (eight) and 2020 (seven) NFL Drafts. – Clemson’s six selections tied for its third-most since the NFL adopted the seven-round format in 1994. – Clemson six selections tied Pitt for the most in the ACC and trailed only Alabama (10), Georgia (10), Michigan (nine) and TCU (eight) among all programs. – Clemson produced at least five picks for the eighth time in the last 10 drafts. Only two schools have had at least five draft picks selected in a single draft more times than Clemson in that span. – Clemson has now had at least one player selected in the NFL Draft in 21 consecutive years, trailing only the 1951-74 NFL Drafts — a span of 24 years — for the longest streak in school history. – Clemson also extended its streak of consecutive drafts with multiple selections to 21 straight drafts. Clemson is one of seven schools to have produced two or more picks in 21 consecutive drafts, alongside Florida, LSU, Michigan, Oklahoma, Ohio State and USC. – Clemson has produced at least one first-round pick in nine of the last 11 drafts. – Clemson, Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Ohio State are the only five schools with at least one first-round pick in at least nine of the last 11 drafts. – The 2023 NFL Draft was the eighth in which Clemson produced multiple first-round picks, joining the 1979, 1982, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2021 first rounds. In all but one of those instances (1982), all of the selections came from one side of the ball. – Clemson has had multiple players selected in the first round in four of the last five — and six of the last nine — drafts. – Clemson was one of only five schools to produce multiple first-round picks in 2023. – Clemson produced multiple first-round picks on defense for the fourth time in school history, joining the 2015 (DE Vic Beasley and LB Stephone Anthony), 2019 (DE Clelin Ferrell, DT Christian Wilkins and DT Dexter Lawrence) and 2020 (LB Isaiah Simmons and CB A.J. Terrell) NFL Drafts. – Dabo Swinney pushed his number of first-round picks in his head coaching tenure to 17, the second-most of any active coach. – Clemson has now had seven first-round defensive linemen selected since the 2015 NFL Draft. Clemson’ seven are the most edge rushers and interior defensive linemen selected from any school in that span, ahead of Georgia (six), Michigan (five) and Alabama (four). – With consecutive selections of Myles Murphy and Bryan Bresee with the No. 28 and No. 29 picks, respectively, Clemson produced back-to-back first-round picks in a single draft for the first time in program history. – Murphy and Bresee became the third Clemson tandem to be drafted back-to-back in any round all-time, joining Chris Clemons and Michael Hamlin in 2009 and Marcus Gilchrist and Da’Quan Bowers in 2011. – Clemson has produced at least one Top 50 pick in 16 of the last 18 NFL Drafts, dating to 2006. The only drafts in that span in which Clemson did not produce a Top 50 pick were in 2009 and 2018. – Clemson recorded three Top 100 selections in a draft for the sixth time in the last eight years. Clemson’s lone exceptions since 2016 came in 2018 and 2022. – With the selection of a defensive end, defensive tackle and linebacker in the first three rounds, Clemson’s produced its first three picks of a draft from its defensive front seven for the fourth time in the Common Draft era, joining the 1988, 2015 and 2019 NFL Drafts. – With the additional selection of DE K.J. Henry, Clemson’s defense produced the first four picks of a draft for the first time since 2019. It marked the first time in the Common Draft era that Clemson’s defensive front seven was responsible for all of the program’s first four picks in a draft. – Clemson placed three defensive linemen in the NFL Draft for the third time in the last eight years, joining the 2016 (Shaq Lawson, Kevin Dodd and D.J. Reader) and 2019 (Clelin Ferrell, Christian Wilkins, Dexter Lawrence and Austin Bryant) NFL Drafts. – With the addition of a selection by the Ravens, Head Coach Dabo Swinney has now produced a draft pick for 28 of the 32 NFL teams in his head coaching tenure. The only NFL teams not to select a Clemson player in Swinney’s head coaching tenure are the Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers. – Overall, Clemson has had at least one player chosen by 30 of the 32 NFL franchises since 2003. The lone exceptions in that time frame are the Patriots, who last selected a Tiger in 1991, and the Panthers, who have never selected a Clemson player. – Clemson’s first three selections across the first two days were all early entrants. Clemson’s three selections on Day 3 were all senior team captains. The only two Clemson team captains from 2022 that were not drafted were DT Tyler Davis and S Jalyn Phillips, both of whom opted to return for an extra year of eligibility in 2023. – Clemson’s three fifth-round picks tied for the most in a single round in the Dabo Swinney era, matching the 2011 second round, 2016 second round, 2016 seventh round and 2019 first round. – Clemson has now produced 26 draft picks in the last five years and 54 draft picks in the past 10 years.
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