Two Clemson defenders move into 1st-round draft projection

Trayvon Mullen and Tre Lamar are regarded as "near the top of their respective position groups."

by Brandon Rink - Staff Writer - Fri Sep 14 14:43:39 GMT-04:00 2018

We’re still quite a while away from the 2019 NFL draft, but two Tiger defenders are impressing NFL scouts as projected first-round picks. Another Clemson defender surprisingly isn’t in the top-32 ‘Big Board’ for the same outlet.

Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller pegs both junior cornerback Trayvon Mullen and junior linebacker Tre Lamar as “near the top of their respective position groups” with Round 1 grades, as the No. 20 and 21 prospects overall respectively.

Four total Tigers are in in the top-25 of the 32-man board - led by Clelin Ferrell (11) with Christian Wilkins rounding out the group (25).

Notably missing is former five-star prospect and Tigers defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, which Miller noted last week in an assessment of him and Wilkins.

“There is a ton of hype surrounding Clemson defensive tackles Dexter Lawrence and Christian Wilkins,” Miller wrote last week, “but that's college football hype and not NFL potential. Neither player is featured on my top-32 big board (as of Sept. 7)—which is based on my observations but is also vetted by NFL scouts. If enough scouts say you're wrong about a player, you're going to double-check it. Instead, the most common feedback was that both are ranked too high.”

Wilkins, Ferrell and Austin Bryant all made decisions to return for their senior year, while Lawrence is eligible for the draft for the first time this season.

The returning trio did all have work to do going into the season for improving draft stock, as no Tigers ended up having a first-round grade from the NFL draft advisory board going into 2018 draft.

Lamar was rated as high as a 5-star prospect out of high school and has posted eight solo stops with 0.5 TFL in his return from a shoulder injury that held him out down the stretch of last season.

Mullen, a former 4-star prospect, has played the second-most defensive snaps so far (104) with three stops and one TFL.