Clemson NFL draft notes through three rounds

by CU Athletic Communications - Apr 27, 2019, 12:07 AM

Former Clemson cornerback Trayvon Mullen was the Tigers' selection on day two of the NFL draft, going with pick No. 40 to the Oakland Raiders.

He was a fourth Clemson defender to go in the first 40 picks, joining Clelin Ferrell (No. 4; Oakland), Christian Wilkins (No. 13; Miami) and Dexter Lawrence (No. 17; New York Giants).

The draft concludes on ESPN, ABC and NFL Network at noon on Saturday with rounds 4-7.

Trayvon Mullen NOTES

* At the No. 40 overall selection (Oakland Raiders), was Clemson's highest defensive back selected in a draft since Tye Hill's selection at No. 15 overall in 2006.

* Became the 55th player to have played for Head Coach Dabo Swinney to be drafted into the NFL, including the eighth second-round pick of Swinney's tenure. All eight second-round picks under Swinney have come from the defensive side of the ball.

* Became the 13th defensive back selected in the Swinney era dating back to the 2009 NFL Draft.

* Joined Marcus Gilchrist (2011), Mackenzie Alexander (2016) and T.J. Green (2016) as one of four defensive backs under Swinney to be selected in the second round of the NFL Draft.

* Pushed Clemson’s current stretch of drafts with at least one defensive back selected to nine of the last 11 drafts.

* Represents the second Clemson player selected by the Raiders in the 2019 NFL Draft, joining DE Clelin Ferrell, marking the first time the Raiders had taken multiple Clemson products in a single draft.

* Was the eighth Clemson player selected by the Raiders all-time. The Raiders had gone nine years since their last selection from Clemson (Jacoby Ford in 2010) prior to taking two Tigers in 24 hours in the 2019 NFL Draft.

* Joins Don Willis (1939) and Dexter McCleon (1997) as one of three Clemson players selected No. 40 overall all-time. Willis was the first draft pick in Clemson history, and McCleon played 10 NFL seasons that included a victory in Super Bowl XXXIV.

CLEMSON NOTES

* Produced three first-round picks for the first time in school history, surpassing the previous record of two, set in the 1979, 1982, 2015 and 2017 NFL Drafts.

* Responsible for producing three players selected as defensive linemen from a single school in a single draft for the first time in NFL Draft history. (Note: In 2006, NC State’s Mario Williams, Manny Lawson and John McCargo went with the Nos. 1, 22 and 26 picks, respectively, though Lawson was officially submitted as a linebacker professionally.)

* Pushed its total of defensive linemen selected in the Head Coach Dabo Swinney era (since the 2009 NFL Draft) to 16.

* Has now had multiple defensive linemen selected five times in the last nine drafts (2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2019).

* Was one of only three schools to produce three first-round picks in 2019 (Alabama and Mississippi State).

* Had two players selected in the Top 15 for the first time in a single draft for the third time in school history, joining the 1960 (Lou Cordileone and Harold Olson) and 2017 NFL Drafts (Deshaun Watson and Mike Williams).

* Matched its school record for picks in the first two rounds, tying the four selections in Rounds 1-2 in 2016 (Shaq Lawson, Kevin Dodd, Mackensie Alexander and T.J. Green).

* Has now had at least one draft selection in each of the last 17 drafts since 2003, representing the second-longest streak in school history behind a 24-year streak across the 1951-74 NFL Drafts.

* Has now had at least one first-round selection in six of the last seven NFL Drafts.

Produced a pair of teammates (Clelin Ferrell and Trayvon Mullen) selected by the same NFL team (Oakland Raiders) in a single draft for the 17th time, joining the 1946, 1951, 1955, 1959, 1960, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1979, 1983, 1991, 1998, 2003, 2015, 2016 and 2017 drafts.

* Had two players selected by the same NFL team in the first two rounds of a draft for the first time in school history.