The 2021 NFL Draft once again shows the disparity between Clemson football and their little less talented brother down in Columbia.
For as badly as South Carolina claims to hate Clemson football, they sit in admiration of what the Tigers have accomplished and realizing that they never will. Their only hopes for a national title in football come from buying the t-shirts of whomever Clemson plays in January.
Looking at NFL draft history shows just how far apart the Tigers and Gamecocks have been and that gap isn’t closing anytime soon.
Clemson football versus South Carolina in the NFL draft
South Carolina fans love to reminisce about 2009 through 2013 – when they beat Clemson football five times in a row. What makes this time even stranger is to take a look at the corresponding NFL drafts from 2010 through 2014.
During that five-year span, Carolina had 19 total NFL draft picks including seven in 2013. During that five-game losing streak, Clemson had 24 former players taken in the NFL draft. Those early Clemson football teams clearly had more talent but the coaching staff under head coach Dabo Swinney just could not get it together on the field.
Since losing that 2013 game 31-17 in Columbia, Clemson has rattled off six straight and if it wasn’t for the SEC, it would have been seven. (There is no debating this, it would have been another blood bath)
Since the 2014 NFL draft, Clemson has had 47 NFL draft picks to Carolina’s 21.
Not only has Clemson been embarrassing them on the field the Saturday after Thanksgiving, but they have also embarrassed them on the next level as well.
Over the last 10 NFL drafts, Clemson has had a total of 55 players drafted by NFL teams. During that same time, Carolina has had just 34. Of those 55 players for the Tigers, 14 of them have been in the first round and six of them have been in the Top 10.
For Carolina, of their 34 draft selections from 2012-2021, just six of them came in the first round, and only three of those were taken in the Top 10 – Stephon Gilmore (10th in 2012), Jadeveon Clowney (1st in 2014) and Jaycee Horn was taken eighth over the last weekend.
Much like the wins in the rivalry, these two programs have never been similar and never will be. For as much talking as they do in Columbia, most people have no desire to spend their 20’s in that city playing for that refuse of a program.
Clearly, NFL teams don’t like visiting there either.