The 2023 NFL Draft was held last weekend, offering many collegiate athletes the life-changing opportunity to be selected by an NFL team. For many players, this day represents the culmination of a lifelong dedication to training, practicing, and working hard.

The NFL is often said to be an entirely different game by players, and collegiate success does not always translate to a robust professional career. Nevertheless, college fans are routinely surprised by which seemingly proven play makers fall to later rounds and which players who appeared wildly inconsistent at the NCAA level are taken early due to some combination of measurables, potential, and raw skill. Florida’s Anthony Richardson is a great example from this year, being taken fourth overall despite an average collegiate career that featured only 13 starts.

In addition to the annual drama of who may or may not be taken with the first 1-5 picks, for most casual fans, the NFL draft is a fun chance to see where their favorite college stars will be playing at the professional level. Clemson fans have seen a wide variety of talented players come through Tigertown, none more than during the last 15 years thanks to Dabo Swinney’s continued success in both coaching and recruiting. In fact, Dabo ranks second behind only Nick Saban for most players drafted among active head coaches, with 77 picks as of this year’s draft.

I wanted to take a look at every player who has been drafted to the NFL during Dabo’s time at Clemson as head coach for several reasons, but primarily because it’s the offseason, and what else are we supposed to talk about if not obscure football data? I’m also curious to see which position units have had the most taken over his 14 full seasons of coaching (I’m assuming DL and WR).

I’ll start with the 2009 NFL draft and work forward, providing a brief glance at which players were drafted, how long they played, and any major career achievements they collected. I’ll keep my opinion on whether or not they were a bust in the NFL out of this, as I’m mostly just trying to get a big picture of all Dabo’s NFL draft picks. Additionally, it’s an incredible accomplishment to be drafted at all, regardless of how long a player remains on an active roster.

I’ve done my best to include at least one highlight clip from each player where possible, but for those who didn’t produce much in the NFL, I’ve tried to at least share a memorable Clemson play for some good old nostalgic value.

Draft Overview

I have seen that gif of Drew Stanton (#5 backup QB) celebrating on the sideline so many times and only just now realized it was from Andre Ellington’s big touchdown run. Hilarious moment.

Not a Falcons fan, but I will forever be sad that Beasley and Jarrett (who had three sacks!) didn’t win that Super Bowl...

Anytime Charone Peake’s name is brought up I instantly think of this block against Miami:

That legendary 2018 National Title team had three players drafted from the defensive line in the first round, four including Austin Bryant later in the fourth round.

How cool is it that Trevor and Travis get to continue playing together (for now) in the NFL? An awesome duo who I hope do big things for the Jags.

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Quick Notes

Now that we’ve seen the raw data, here are a few notes on these last 14 NFL drafts, starting with the position unit totals:

• 12 WR
• 12 DE
• 9 CB
• 8 S
• 8 LB
• 8 DT
• 7 RB
• 7 OL
• 3 TE
• 3 QB
• 1 P

Wide receiver and defensive end lead all position groups with 12 each; the overall number of defensive players drafted is 45, while only 32 offensive players have been drafted (Bradley Pinion being the only special teams player drafted during the Dabo era).

The Buffalo Bills have been the biggest fan of Clemson athletes over the last 14 years, drafting 9 total players from the Tigers since 2009. The Raiders are close behind with 7 drafted (5 of those coming in 2019 and 2020), while the Bengals and Chargers have both taken 5 Clemson players in that same time span.

Clemson has averaged 5 to 6 players (5.57) drafted during Dabo’s time as head coach, with the most in a single year coming from the 2016 draft, in which 9 players were taken from that formidable 2015 team. The fewest players picked in one year was 2 in 2022, the least since 2008 when Dabo became interim head coach.

Dabo Swinney has had 17 first-round NFL draft picks, the second-most among all active head coaches (guess who is first).

Who are some of your favorite players that have come through Clemson during Dabo’s time? My personal favorite has to be Hunter Renfrow, and I’m so glad he’s continuing to ball out in the NFL now.