The 2026 NFL Draft is barely in the rearview mirror, but the NFL is already drooling over the next defensive superstar coming out of Clemson. Tiger Nation, you know exactly who I’m talking about.
Sammy Brown hasn’t even suited up for his junior season yet, but the first-round hype train is already barreling down the tracks. The buzz hit a fever pitch during last month’s draft, when none other than Tiger legend Ben Boulware jumped on social media to let the world know what’s coming out of Clemson.
“This my friends, is what a 1st round NFL backer looks like,” Boulware wrote.
First-Round Projections
Boulware isn’t the only one who sees it. The national media is finally catching up to what we’ve known in the Upstate since the day Sammy Brown set foot on campus: this guy is built for Sundays.
CBS Sports just dropped an early 2027 NFL mock draft, and analyst Josh Edwards has our guy pegged for the New England Patriots at No. 28 overall.
“New England has gotten by with veteran journeymen at the linebacker position, but now identifies a green dot of the future,” Edwards wrote.
If the Patriots somehow let him slip, don’t worry—SB Nation’s early mock has the Jaguars ready to scoop him up at No. 28. No matter where he ends up, you can bet Sammy Brown is going to make Clemson proud when his name gets called in Washington, D.C. next April.
A Defensive Wrecking Ball
Brown’s sky-high draft stock isn’t hype—it’s earned. Last season, he was a wrecking ball for Clemson’s defense, piling up 106 tackles (second-most in the ACC), 13.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, seven pass breakups, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and an interception. That kind of dominance landed him third-team All-America honors from Phil Steele and first-team All-ACC from just about everyone who matters.
None of this should shock anyone who’s been paying attention. Brown rolled into Clemson as the reigning high school Butkus Award winner, then wasted no time racking up freshman All-America honors and the ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year award in 2024. He committed to the Tigers on June 5, 2023, as the nation’s top linebacker and a top-five overall prospect, according to 247Sports.
Standing 6-2 and 235 pounds, Brown heads into 2026 with 194 tackles (25 for loss), 10 sacks, 11 pass breakups, an interception, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery in just 27 games (19 starts). Here’s the kicker: he’s one of only 14 players in the country to notch double-digit tackles for loss and at least five sacks in each of the last two seasons—right alongside fellow Tiger Will Heldt.
Soak it in, Tiger fans. Players like Sammy Brown are once-in-a-generation, and he’s about to turn his junior year into something we’ll be talking about for a long, long time.
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