Only three Clemson football players had their names called in the NFL Draft at the end of April which is not exactly par for the course for Dabo Swinney's guys. He's usually getting a handful of players to the league every cycle, but this year was different -- mostly because the elite talent returned for another season.
However, one of those draftees joined an interesting situation in Dallas. Phil Mafah, the Cowboys' seventh-round pick, was nearly Mr. Irrelevant but was selected by Jerry Jones and Co. to bolster that backfield which saw a complete revamp this offseason.
Miles Sanders and Javonte Williams are expected to carry the load in the backfield as the veterans of the bunch, but Dallas selected two rushers in the 2025 NFL Draft to complement these guys. Jaydon Blue from Texas was the other pick alongside Mafah and he's projected to have a large role.
Mafah, on the other hand, may be fighting to just make the roster despite earning plenty of praise following the pick from Cowboys coaches and even some media members who called him the best value pick by Dallas in the entire draft.
According to a report from ESPN, Mafah is projected to face a long uphill battle to make the Dallas Cowboys' roster this offseason.
"He's not particularly fast, and his collegiate efficiency was underwhelming. The Dallas RB situation is seemingly wide open, but Blue, Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders all stand in the way to a sizable role."ESPN's Mike Clay
Obviously that's not what you want to hear as a Clemson fan rooting for Mafah to not only make the Cowboys' roster but to earn a healthy amount of carries as a rookie, but that's seemingly the reality. Mafah is joining a crowded backfield, but he's just going to gave to do what he did throughout his Clemson career and prove himself.
Mafah had just 807 yards and seven touchdowns through his first two seasons at Clemson before proving himself as the lead back, recording 965 yards and 13 touchdowns on a career-best 5.4 yards per carry as a junior and then 1,115 yards and eight touchdowns as a senior, also adding over 100 receiving yards in each of his final two seasons.
Uphill battle? This is nothing new to Mafah.