Two Tigers listed in Mel Kiper's 2020 NFL Mock Draft |
NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. released his
2020 NFL Mock Draft 1.0 on Friday as two Clemson players were ranked in the first round.
Butkus winning linebacker Isaiah Simmons was projected to go No. 4 overall to the New York Giants. "An off-ball linebacker in the top five? Believe it -- Simmons is that good," Kiper wrote. "He is the perfect run-and-cover linebacker for today's NFL, and he can do anything and play every down. Just look at his incredible stat line from 2019: 104 tackles, eight sacks, three interceptions and 16 total tackles for loss. The Giants have many needs, but Simmons is the type of defender who makes everyone around him better."
Receiver Tee Higgins was predicted to go No. 21 (fourth WR overall) to the Philadelphia Eagles.
"Philadelphia has to upgrade at wide receiver -- its two top pass-catchers in 2019 were tight ends Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert -- and the depth and talent in this class could set up perfectly for the Eagles to have several options here," Kiper said. "At 6-foot-4, Higgins is the biggest wideout of the first-round talents, a jump-ball specialist and touchdown machine (25 the past two seasons). He's not super explosive like Lamb, Jeudy or Ruggs, but he'll box out cornerbacks in the red zone and pick up first downs, not unlike Alshon Jeffery, who struggled to stay on the field this season. The Eagles would have liked more from second-round pick J.J. Arcega-Whiteside in Year 1, and I still like his upside, but Higgins has No. 1 receiver talent."
In 2019, Higgins had 59 receptions for 1,167 yards (19.8 YPC) and 13 touchdowns.
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