Clemson Tigers Defensive Star Lands with Cincinnati Bengals in NFL Draft
The Clemson Tigers’ wait for one of their players to be selected in the NFL Draft ended in the fourth round on Saturday.
Former Tigers linebacker Barrett Carter as selected by the Cincinnati Bengals with the No. 119 overall pick.
This came after the Tigers did not have a player selected in the first three rounds of the draft, the first time that had happened since 2009.
The Bengals have a former Clemson player and teammate of Carter, Myles Murphy, on their roster.
Carter was a two-time all-America selection who finished his Tigers career with 254 tackles, including 31.5 for loss, with 12.5 sacks, 24 pass breakups, three interceptions, two forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries. He started 40 of his 52 career games.
Last season he was first-team All-ACC as he finished the season with 84 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, nine pass breakups and a fumble recovery as he played in all 14 games. He was also a Butkus Award finalist, given to the nation’s best linebacker.
Carter was ranked No. 136 on ESPN’s final big board doing into the draft. That was second among Clemson players behind safety RJ Mickens, who was ranked No. 89. He was still on the board after Carter was selected.
Safety is a position some NFL general managers value a bit less than linebacker. In this draft, ESPN has Mickens ranked as the No. 8 overall safety. So, he’s a Top 10 player at his position. But many teams try to find value in taking a safety later in the draft or look for a cornerback with safety skills that can be converted into the position.
Mickens finished his Clemson career with 229 tackles. His durability will be intriguing to teams. He became the became the 10th player in Clemson history to play 60 career games.
