With it now officially being spring, it also means it is officially mock draft season. The 2020 NFL Draft will be held April 23-25 in Paradise, Nevada.
It appears three former Clemson players could hear their names called out on the first night, according to Sports Illustrated. SI.com released its 11th Mock Draft on Friday and it has Clemson’s Isaiah Simmons, A.J. Terrell and Tee Higgins all going in the first round of the draft. Former offensive lineman John Simpson is a third-round pick.
If SI is right, it would mark the second straight year Clemson had three former Tigers selected in the first round of an NFL Draft. Last year, Clelin Ferrell (No. 4), Christian Wilkins (No. 13) and Dexter Lawrence (No. 17) were all chosen in the first 17 picks of the draft.
No surprise, Simmons is the first Tiger to be taken off the board. However, it is surprising SI has the linebacker falling to No. 7 to Carolina. Other reports have said the Detroit Lions (No. 3 pick) and the New York Giants (No. 4) have strong interest in the former ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah lists Simmons as the No. 3 overall prospect on his draft board.
“He is like getting three guys with one pick. He is like getting three first-rounders,” Swinney said. “You are just getting a lot of value. Sometimes, you can take a guy and he is just a specific need. That is what he does. This is what he plays. But with Isaiah, he is multiple roster spots all rolled up into one. I think that is pretty unique.”
Terrell is supposed to be the next Clemson player selected in SI’s latest mock draft. The cornerback is predicted to go No. 29 overall to the Tennessee Titans.
“Several Titans’ corners are free agents this offseason, including Logan Ryan. While he didn’t have a stellar performance against Ja’Marr Chase and LSU in the national championship game, Terrell is a long and athletic corner that should be in the late first-round mix,” the article says.
Just a couple of picks after Terrell, Higgins is expected to fall off the board. The former wide receiver, who tied Deandre Hopkins’ and Sammy Watkins’ career touchdown reception record at Clemson, is predicted to go No. 31 overall in the draft to the San Francisco 49ers.
Following a highly productive three-year career at Clemson during which he amassed 135 receptions for 2,448 yards and 27 receiving touchdowns, Higgins is expected to be taken in the late first or early second round of the draft.
Higgins ran a 4.54 in the 40-yard dash last week at Clemson’s Pro Day.
“I think he is really, really fast with his straight-line speed. He ran in the 4.5s,” Swinney said. “The difference in 4.54 and 4.44, it is almost impossible to (get it with a hand-held stopwatch).”
There were some that expected Higgins to run below a 4.5. All 32 teams from the NFL journeyed to Clemson to watch the 6-foot-4, 216-pound receiver workout, something he could not do at the NFL Combine last month in Indianapolis due to a tweaked hamstring.
“I wasn’t really too big on my 40, shuttle, vertical, broad. I wasn’t really big on that,” Higgins said. “You know me, I’m going to run routes when I am on the team, I’m not going to run the 40. To me I’m really focused on my route-running and catching the ball.”
Swinney agrees with Higgins and feels he should be judged more on what he has shown on tape and focus more on his football skills than what he did on some 40-time.
“That gets the technicality of a star. He is not a track guy. He has never run track,” the Clemson coach said. “But put him in at receiver and line him up against everybody else and see how it ends. He can run with anybody.
“He is elite in every way. He has excellent top end speed. Freaky ball skills and unbelievable size. Collision balance, radius, high football IQ, great character, high coach ability. He is the complete package.”
SI.com did just three rounds of selections on Friday, and Simpson was picked to go No. 103 in the draft to the Philadelphia Eagles.
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