Clemson football: Tigers most likely to leave early for the NFL
By John Chancey
Clemson football’s draft class for 2022 was the smallest in Dabo Swinney’s tenure with the Tigers. Part of this had to do with extenuating circumstances, such as the medical concerns surrounding Justyn Ross, but the primary reason is that some players who were eligible to leave early elected to remain at Clemson for another year.
Clemson defensive end Xavier Thomas announces that he will return for another season with the Tigers. pic.twitter.com/92LU063Mf6
— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) January 16, 2022
On more trip around the sun ❕❕ pic.twitter.com/As72XdVen1
— KJ Henry (@thekjhenry) January 3, 2022
NFL rules state a player must be three years past their high school graduation date to be eligible to enter the draft. Clemson has several talented players from the recruiting class of 2020 who will become draft eligible following the 2022 season, especially on the defensive side.
The 2022 NFL draft showed why Clemson did not score an offensive TD against Georgia in 2021. The 2023 NFL draft will show why Georgia didn't score an offensive TD against Clemson in that same 2021 season opener.
— Tim Bourret (@TimBourret) April 30, 2022
Add to this the special rule stating that the 2020 season does not count towards eligibility, and it means that Clemson might have more players than ever before who elect to forego remaining eligibility to go pro. The Super Seniors (+SR) are the only players who exhaust all eligibility in 2022: Xavier Thomas, BT Potter, Hunter Johnson and Luke Price. Everyone else has at least one more season available after 2022.
These are the ten Clemson players that are most likely to leave early for the 2023 NFL Draft.