DRAFT NOTES

CLEMSON DRAFT NOTES:
– Clemson has now had at least one player selected in 23 consecutive drafts since 2003, representing the second-longest streak in school history behind a 24-year streak across the 1951-74 NFL Drafts.
– Clemson is one of only six schools to have produced multiple draft picks in each of the last 23 NFL Drafts (LSU, Michigan, Oklahoma, Ohio State and USC).
– Clemson has now had at least three selections in 16 of its 17 drafts since Dabo Swinney was elevated to head coach. Clemson is one of six schools to have produced three or more picks at least 16 times in that span alongside Alabama, LSU, Ohio State, Oklahoma and USC.
– Including two defensive picks this year, Clemson has now produced multiple defensive draft picks in 14 of the 17 drafts of the Dabo Swinney era. Clemson, LSU, Alabama, Ohio State and Georgia are the only programs to produce multiple draft picks from their defenses in at least 14 drafts in that span.
– Clemson has had at least one player chosen by 30 of the 32 NFL franchises since 2003. The lone exceptions in that time frame are the Patriots, who last selected a Tiger in 1991, and the Panthers, who have never selected a Clemson player despite playing their first season in franchise history in Death Valley.
– Head Coach Dabo Swinney has produced a draft pick for 28 of the 32 NFL teams in his head coaching tenure; the only NFL teams not to select a Clemson player in Swinney’s head coaching tenure are the Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers.
– Though Clemson did not have a player selected in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, Clemson has had at least one first-round draft choice in 10 of the last 13 years, standing alongside Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Ohio State as the only programs to produce a first-round pick in at least 10 of the last 13 years.
– Since 2013, Clemson has produced first-round picks from the QB, RB, WR, DE, DT, LB and DB position groups. The only other school with at least one first-rounder at all those positions in that span is Alabama.

NOTES ON THE SELECTION OF BARRETT CARTER:
– Carter became the 84th NFL Draft selection in Dabo Swinney’s head coaching tenure and the 16th fourth-round pick of his tenure.
– Carter became the Bengals’ seventh all-time selection from Clemson, joining TE Jim Riggs (1987), DT Donald Broomfield (1999), DT Brandon Thompson (2012), WR Tee Higgins (2020), OL Jackson Carman (2021) and Myles Murphy (2023).
– Carter became the first Clemson player ever to be selected with the No. 119 overall pick.
– Carter became the ninth off-ball linebacker drafted from Clemson since the 2015 NFL Draft. Carter joined Stephone Anthony (2015), Tony Steward (2015), B.J. Goodson (2016), Dorian O’Daniel (2018), Isaiah Simmons (2020), Baylon Spector (2022), Trenton Simpson (2023) and Jeremiah Trotter Jr. (2024) in that group.
– Carter’s selection represents the fourth consecutive draft in which Clemson has had a linebacker selected. Clemson and Alabama are the only programs in the nation to produce at least one linebacker in each of the last four NFL Drafts.
– Carter’s selection marked the third time under Dabo Swinney and seventh time in the Common Draft era (since 1967) that a linebacker has been Clemson’s first selection of a draft. He was the first linebacker to be Clemson’s first pick in a draft since Isaiah Simmons was selected No. 8 overall in 2020.
– Carter became the 25th member of Clemson’s front seven to be drafted since the 2015 NFL Draft.
– Carter’s selection marked the ninth time in the last 11 years that a defensive player was Clemson’s first selection in a draft. The two exceptions in that span came in 2017 (WR Mike Williams at No. 7) and 2021 (QB Trevor Lawrence at No. 1). Clemson’s defense has now produced the program’s first pick of an NFL Draft 18 times since the turn of the century and in 12 of the 17 drafts of Dabo Swinney’s tenure.
– The selection of Carter — a Suwanee, Ga. native — marked the fifth consecutive year that Clemson’s first selection in an NFL Draft hailed from the state of Georgia (Cartersville’s Trevor Lawrence in 2021, Dacula’s Andrew Booth Jr. in 2022, Marietta’s Myles Murphy in 2023 and Atlanta’s Nate Wiggins in 2024).

NOTES ON THE SELECTION OF R.J. MICKENS:
– Mickens became the 85th NFL Draft selection in Dabo Swinney’s head coaching tenure and the ninth sixth-round pick of his tenure.
– Mickens became the 11th Clemson player selected by the Chargers in an NFL Draft, joining DB Hollis Hall (1982), C Curtis Whitley (1992), LB Patrick Sapp (1996), DE Adrian Dingle (1999), FS Robert Carswell (2001), QB Charlie Whitehurst (2006), LB Anthony Waters (2007), CB Marcus Gilchrist (2011), WR Mike Williams (2017) and OL Jordan McFadden (2023).
– Mickens became the first Clemson player ever to be selected with the No. 214 overall pick.
– Mickens became the 42nd Clemson defensive back drafted in the Common Draft era (since 1967) and the 19th defensive back drafted in Dabo Swinney’s head coaching tenure. He became the eighth Clemson safety drafted under Swinney.
– With Mickens’ selection, Clemson has had at least one defensive back selected in 13 of Clemson’s 17 drafts in the Dabo Swinney era.
– Mickens’ selection marked the second straight draft in which an NFL legacy has been selected from Clemson’s defense. Mickens’ father Ray played 11 NFL seasons. Last year, the Philadelphia Eagles selected Clemson’s Jeremiah Trotter Jr., the son of former Pro Bowler Jeremiah Trotter Sr.

NOTES ON THE SELECTION OF PHIL MAFAH:
– Mafah became the 86th NFL Draft selection in Dabo Swinney’s head coaching tenure and the seventh seventh-round pick of his tenure.
– Mafah became the eighth Clemson player selected by the Cowboys all-time, joining QB Lowndes Shingler (1961), DB Charlie Waters (1970), T Ivan Southerland (1970), RB Lester Brown (1980), RB Chuck McSwain (1983), WR Keith Jennings (1989) and S Michael Hamlin (2009).
– Mafah became the first Clemson player ever to be selected with the No. 239 overall pick.
– Mafah became the 19th Clemson running back selected in the Common Draft era (since 1967).
– Mafah joined James Davis (2009), C.J. Spiller (2010), Jamie Harper (2011), Andre Ellington (2013), Zac Brooks (2016), Wayne Gallman (2017), Travis Etienne (2021) and Will Shipley (2024) to become the ninth Clemson running back selected in the Dabo Swinney era.
– Clemson has now had a running back selected in consecutive drafts for the first time since the 2016 and 2017 NFL Drafts. The Philadelphia Eagles selected Mafah’s former roommate, RB Will Shipley, in the 2024 NFL Draft.