Clemson football: Isaiah Simmons will be first of many Top 3 draft picks

Over the last decade, Clemson football has had 58 players heard their name called during the NFL draft ceremonies and Isaiah Simmons will be the best of them all.

In the history of the NFL draft, just 11 Clemson football players have been Top 10 picks and only five those have been within the Top 5. Banks McFadden, Gaines Adams, Sammy Watkins, and Clelin Ferrell currently hold the distinction of being the highest draft picks in Clemson football history as the fourth overall pick of their respective drafts.

At the 2020 NFL combine, Isaiah Simmons made himself a lot of money. Showing a rare combination of size, speed and football IQ that NFL teams crave. While no one knows for sure how the NFL draft is ever going to pan out, there is a really good chance that Simmons goes somewhere in the Top 3 and not necessarily to the Bengals, Redskins, and Lions who own those current picks.

For as much as the NFL is a passing league, they are in dire need of defenders that can create a matchup issue for the offenses in the league. Three of the most unguardable players in the league right now are Travis Kelce, Alvin Kamara and Christian McCaffrey.

Not only is Simmons faster than both McCaffrey and Kamara but he has the size and strengths to render Kelce useless in a game. The NFL has never seen a player like Isaiah Simmons and after this weekend, NFL general managers are excited about the possibility to add him to their roster and build around him.

There is no doubt that Simmons will be Clemson football’s 12th Top 10 pick and if Simmons can duplicate his combine success at Clemson’s pro day, there is little doubt that he will be the first Top 3 pick in Clemson football history.

Given the way Clemson football continues to grow as a program, Simmons will be one of many Top 3 NFL draft picks over the next decade. As coach Swinney says, the best is yet to come!