Tyler Davis becomes latest Clemson football pick in NFL Draft’s 6th round

The 2024 NFL Draft marches on Friday and Saturday in Detroit, with a number of former Clemson football players expected to be selected this weekend.

Tigers cornerback Nate Wiggins got things started as he was picked No. 30 overall by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round of the draft late Thursday night. Wiggins was Clemson’s 18th first round pick since 2009, Dabo Swinney’s first draft as the team’s head coach, and gave the program at least one first rounder 10 of the past 12 years.

Wiggins had five teammates join him at the NFL combine earlier this year, and all five are projected to go over the draft’s last two days. Here’s a running list of Clemson selections for the remainder of the draft:

• CB Nate Wiggins: No. 30 overall (first round) to the Baltimore Ravens

• DT Ruke Orhorhoro: No. 35 overall (second round) to the Atlanta Falcons

• RB Will Shipley: No. 127 overall (fourth round) to the Philadelphia Eagles

• DE Xavier Thomas: No. 138 overall (fifth round) to the Arizona Cardinals

• LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr.: No. 155 overall (fifth round) to the Philadelphia Eagles

• DT Tyler Davis: No. 196 overall (sixth round) to the Los Angeles Rams

And here’s a bit more on each pick, in order of most recent selection:

Tyler Davis to the Los Angeles Rams

The last of six expected Clemson draft picks is off the board. The Rams have selected Davis, the school’s only defensive player to make four All-ACC teams, midway through the sixth round. It’s the second year in a row LA has drafted a Clemson player (tight end Davis Allen in 2023 fifth round).

Davis played immediately as a true freshman starter at Clemson and opted to return for a fifth year despite being an All American in 2022. He was a permanent team captain and first team all conference pick as a senior and had 29.5 career tackles for loss and 16 sacks (only 0.5 last year).

“He is the consummate ‘team guy’ and eventually he will be a captain,” Swinney said. “He is a player I would put in the same mold as Grady Jarrett. He is probably a guy that got downgraded because he doesn’t have some of the measurables from a size standpoint, but when he gets on the field, he will quickly separate from the others. That’s just who he is. That’s who he’s always been.”

LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr. to the Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles have traded up and made the pick everyone wanted. Trotter, a Butkus Award finalist this year and 2022 All American, is headed to Philadelphia, where he grew up the son of former Eagles All Pro linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Sr. The father-son storyline couldn’t get much better than this.

Trotter broke out as a true sophomore in 2022 and left Clemson with 202 career tackles and 29.5 tackles for loss. He was one of only 14 FBS players in the last 20 seasons to record at least 10 sacks, four interceptions, three forced fumbles and multiple pick-sixes and one of only four Power Five players to do that.

From the day he showed up to Clemson, he was a pro,” Swinney said. “It was just a matter of him going through the process of putting his three years in and getting better. Everything he’s always done, you would think he was already a pro. He’s wise beyond his years. He’s mature beyond his years. And he’s just an elite player beyond his years.”

DE Xavier Thomas to the Arizona Cardinals

Sixth-year veteran Thomas is off the board at the top of the fifth round. The Cardinals are betting on Thomas, who battled various injuries, COVID-19 and depression at Clemson after arriving as a presumed “three and done” recruit. Thomas played in 12 games with 11 starts last year and had a team-high 21 quarterback pressures after playing just three games last year.

Thomas, a former freshman All American in 2018, was one of only nine players in program history (and one of only four defensive players) to play in at least 60 career games. The Florence, SC native turned 24 years old in December.

“When he came to Clemson, he was probably destined to leave in three years, but here he is six years later, and he is definitely the best version of himself,” Swinney said, adding: “He’s unique in that he’s not your typical defensive end, but his speed and his strength and his ability to turn speed into power is something that’s going to serve him well in this next step in his journey.”

RB Will Shipley to the Philadelphia Eagles

Shipley is the first Clemson player off the board on Day 3 and goes to Philadelphia, an interesting offensive fit for the former all-purpose star. The Eagles had one of the NFL’s best offenses last year behind QB Jalen Hurts but faltered down the stretch en route to a wild card round loss.

Shipley (who averaged 118.1 all-purpose yards per game in his career) is Clemson’s first offensive skill player drafted since tight end Davis Allen went to the Rams in the fifth round of the 2023 draft and its first RB drafted since Travis Etienne in 2021.

“He can change the game with the ball in space,” Swinney said. “He can break tackles between the tackles. He can play receiver for you in the slot or make plays on the outside, and he can impact the game as a special teams guy in the return game. He brings a lot to the table, not to mention he’s an unbelievably smart kid. He never made below a 4.0. He will bring a fire and an energy.”

DT Ruke Orhorhoro to the Atlanta Falcons

Orhorhoro comes off the board earlier than expected, going with the third pick of the second round after the Falcons traded up to select him. The senior and native of Nigeria was a combine standout and third team All ACC selection as a senior. He had a career high 5.0 sacks in 2023 and 25.5 tackles for loss in his career.

Orhorhoro joins a Falcons team that has missed six consecutive playoffs and shocked the league Thursday by drafting Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. No. 8 overall despite signing Kirk Cousins to a massive contract during free agency.

“The thing that everybody likes about Ruke is that he’s not quite a blank canvas but he still very much has his best football in front of him,” Swinney said. “He’s a guy that didn’t start playing football until his junior year of high school. Watching him develop at Clemson every single year, to me, Ruke is a great example to a lot of kids in today’s world that if you’ll just stay and put the work in, if you’ve got the talent then you will develop.”

CB Nate Wiggins to the Baltimore Ravens

Wiggins’ time with Clemson was short but productive. A 2021 recruit who flipped from LSU to Clemson late in the recruiting cycle, he played minimally as a freshman before promptly emerging as a sophomore starter. Wiggins dazzled with his speed every game (see his 98-yard pick six against UNC in the 2022 ACC title game, or his chase-downs of Miami and UNC running backs during the 2023 season).

Wiggins (who ran a 4.28-second 40-yard dash at the combine) was considered a first round lock entering the draft; even though he fell to the final few picks Thursday, the former All-ACC cornerback could provide an immediate boost to the Ravens, who were the AFC’s No. 1 seed last year.

“Nate is as talented as we’ve ever had come through here at his position from a skill set standpoint,” Swinney said. “Really, really fast. He’s really honed his craft from when I first met him. He’s a really competitive kid, and how he channeled his competitiveness, he’s really developed.”

How to watch the 2024 NFL Draft

• Round 1: 8 p.m. Thursday, April 25 (ESPN, ABC and NFL Network)

• Rounds 2-3: 7 p.m. Friday, April 26 (ESPN, ABC and NFL Network)

• Rounds 4-7: noon Saturday, April 27 (ESPN, ABC and NFL Network)