Don’t be shocked if Clemson keeps popping names into the NFL Draft conversation next spring.
The Tigers have a cluster of players drawing real attention for 2027, and ESPN’s Jordan Reid recently highlighted four of them by name when looking at whether that draft class can live up to the hype. In the order Reid listed them, Clemson’s potential top-100 picks are cornerback Ashton Hampton, wide receiver Bryant Wesco Jr., edge rusher Will Heldt, and linebacker Sammy Brown.
That list lines up with NFL Mock Draft Database’s consensus board, which has all four inside the top 100: Sammy Brown at No. 37, Ashton Hampton at No.
44, Bryant Wesco Jr. at No. 53, and Will Heldt at No. 90.
The same board also has Clemson wideout TJ Moore at No. 67 overall for 2027. Moore is part of a strong receiving group with Wesco, though he has missed time.
Among those Clemson names, Reid sees Hampton as the most likely first-rounder. Brown is not far behind, though, and that has a lot to do with the top of the linebacker class not looking especially loaded.
There’s a path where Brown ends up as LB1 when draft season arrives. Wesco and Heldt, meanwhile, are viewed more as day-two prospects right now, which makes sense given their positions at receiver and edge.
If Moore puts together the kind of season Clemson is hoping for, the Tigers could have five players taken in the first 90 picks of the 2027 draft.
That kind of draft buzz also says something about what Clemson might be capable of this fall. The Tigers are operating in what the piece calls the “wild, wild west” of the ACC, a league they once controlled, and their schedule only includes eight conference games. There aren’t many teams on that slate that can match Clemson’s overall athletic profile.
Offensively, the Tigers look built to lean on the pass. Christopher Vizzina is set to be a first-year starter, but he has been in the system for a while.
More importantly, he’ll have plenty of targets. With Wesco, Moore, and others in the mix, this could be one of Clemson’s best receiving groups in years.
The defense has a different feel. Heldt gives Clemson a presence off the edge, Hampton can handle his business outside, and Brown is the kind of linebacker who can run the middle.
At least one of those three needs to become a true difference-maker for Clemson to get where it wants to go this season. Brown and Hampton look like the safest bets to make that leap, though Heldt has the kind of disruptive ability that can wreck a game plan.
Clemson may not have a no-doubt first-rounder on the roster right now, but the talent is there to stay in the fight every week. Brown and Hampton need to push toward All-American territory, while Heldt, Moore, and Wesco have to separate themselves in crowded position groups. If that happens, Clemson’s 2026 season could be tied closely to a very busy 2027 draft board.
In Other News...
Clemson Is Hearing More Doubt Than Ever Entering 2026
Clemsons preseason buzz for 2026 has a different tone than the one that usually surrounds Dabo Swinneys program. National outlets have the Tigers slotted fourth in the ACC, and ESPNs projections put them in the middle of the league pack in a way that suggests there is less separation between Clemson and the teams chasing it than fans are used to seeing. The bright spot remains on defense, where linebacker Sammy Brown is drawing major recognition as one of the conferences best returning players.
The bigger concern is the way the questions are stacking up around the programs direction, especially on offense. Clemson still has not settled its Week 1 quarterback, with Christopher Vizzina and Tait Reynolds competing for the job, and the lack of a clear answer only adds to the skepticism from outside the building. Even the national conversation around Swinney has turned sharper, with critics openly wondering whether the Tigers are still operating at the level that once made them a weekly national fixture. [Read more 🡒]
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Clemsons reputation for late-game resilience has a statistical backbone, and CBS Sports Cody Nagel put it in sharp relief with a look at how Power Four teams have fared in fourth-quarter situations since 2021. The Tigers are among only four teams in that group with a winning percentage of .250 or better when they enter the fourth quarter down by at least a touchdown, a sign that this program has repeatedly found ways to stay alive when the odds are tilted against it.
The flip side, though, is where the conversation gets more uncomfortable. Clemson has been almost automatic when it carries a lead into the fourth quarter, winning about 95% of those games, but the broader clutch picture is less flattering and points to a team that has not always been as clean at closing as it is at chasing. For a program built on consistency, that split matters, because the difference between surviving a comeback and finishing off a tight game can define a season. [Read more 🡒]