2019 NFL Mock Draft: Projected first round after Week 8
By Dana Becker
Clemson. Clelin Ferrell. 4. player. 42. . DE
The improvements that Clemson has made over the past several years under head coach Dabo Swinney have focused on the offensive production from Deshaun Watson, Travis Etienne and others. But if you look a little closer at the program as a whole, the defense is where Swinney and coordinator Brent Venables have done their best work.
Clelin Ferrell is part of that unit and has been for the past two seasons now, helping lead the Tigers to the 2016 national championship and a berth in the College Football Playoff last year. As a freshman, he was in on 44 tackles, with six sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss.
Ferrell, who stands 6-foot-5 and weighs over 260 pounds, made 18 tackles for loss with 9.5 sacks and 66 total stops as a sophomore last year, but elected to return to Clemson to try to get the program another trophy.
He has been all over the field this year, helping put pressure on the quarterback and limiting the opposition in the run game. San Francisco has a solid nucleus on offense and some good talent on defense with Reuben Foster, Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner. Pairing Ferrell up with the defensive line currently there gives them depth at a much-needed spot.