With the 2025 NFL Draft less than a month away, ESPN NFL draft analyst Matt Miller
released a full seven-round mock draft (subscription required).

There will be 257 total picks in April’s draft, and Miller’s mock draft projects five
Clemson products to be taken among those selections.

The first Tiger that Miller projects to come off the board is linebacker Barrett Carter.
Miller has Carter, a two-time All-America selection and two-time All-ACC honoree, going
to the New York Giants in the third round with the No. 99 overall pick.

“Carter has been a three-down playmaker for the Tigers the past three seasons,
compiling 12.5 sacks, 3 INTs and 30.5 tackles for loss,” Miller wrote.

At the conclusion of his career, Carter’s 2,482 career snaps were the most by a Tiger
linebacker on record. He was the only player in the nation during his four-year career
(2021-24) to record at least 30 tackles for loss, at least 20 pass breakups and three or
more interceptions.

Miller’s mock draft has Clemson safety R.J. Mickens hearing his name called one round
after Carter, with Mickens being taken by the Carolina Panthers in the fourth round (No.
111 overall pick).

An NFL legacy, Mickens recorded 229 tackles (13.5 for loss), seven interceptions, 15
pass breakups and a fumble recovery across 60 games (30 starts) in his Clemson
career from 2020-24.

Mickens earned fourth-team All-ACC recognition from Phil Steele this past season,
when he finished third on the team with a career-high 85 tackles (including a career-
high 6.0 for loss) while adding seven pass breakups and two interceptions over 13
games (all starts).

Miller projects a pair of Tigers to be drafted in the sixth round – defensive tackle Payton
Page (Los Angeles Chargers, No. 181 overall pick) and tight end Jake Briningstool (Los
Angeles Rams, No. 201 overall pick).

Page grew into one of Clemson’s defensive leaders as a senior in 2024, when he
earned third-team All-ACC honors while posting 36 tackles (2.5 for loss), 0.5 sacks, a
pass breakup and a pick-six over 14 games (all starts).

Page finished his four-year Clemson career (2021-24) credited with 69 tackles (6.5 for
loss), a half-sack, two pass breakups and two fumble recoveries across 53 career
games (14 starts).

Briningstool — Clemson’s all-time leader in career receptions by a tight end – wrapped
up his Clemson career (2021-24) with 127 receptions for 1,380 yards and 17
touchdowns over 48 career games (26 starts). The two-time All-ACC selection finished
second in school history in receiving touchdowns and receiving yards, while he finished
his career tied for the seventh-most receptions by a tight end in ACC history. His three
career 100-yard receiving games were a Clemson tight end record.

Briningstool was a third-team All-ACC selection as a senior this past season, when he
caught 49 passes and recorded career highs in receiving yards (530) and receiving
touchdowns (seven) over 13 games (all starts).

Rounding out the Clemson selections in Miller’s mock draft is offensive guard Marcus
Tate as a seventh-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons (No. 242 overall).

Tate played 2,502 career offensive snaps over 42 games (37 starts) for the Tigers from
2021-24 despite battling several injuries during his Clemson career. A four-year starter,
he exited Clemson as one of 28 players on record to play more than 2,500 career snaps
from scrimmage.

Tate earned second-team All-ACC honors last season. He was named ACC Offensive
Lineman of the Week after playing 77 snaps and helping powering Clemson to 500
yards, including 265 on the ground, at Florida State on Oct. 5.

The 2025 NFL Draft is scheduled to be held from April 24-26 inside and around iconic
Lambeau Field and Titletown in Green Bay, Wisconsin.