Could this 6-year Tiger become first Clemson player drafted by the Carolina Panthers?
It’s well-worn lore that the Carolina Panthers, in their nearly 30 years of history as a franchise, haven’t yet selected a Clemson Tiger in the NFL draft.
So, in turn, here’s a well-worn question:
Could 2024 be the first?
If it were to happen this year, the guy who breaks that barrier could very well be Xavier Thomas — a 6-foot-2, 253-pound defensive end with speed among the best at his position in the 2024 class.
Thomas, 24, was one of 10 Clemson players slated to participate in the program’s Pro Day on Thursday. The player who’s been at Clemson six years did so to shore up his drill number in the 40-yard-dash and to complete a positional workout for the scouts from all NFL teams in attendance — which included at least two scouts from Carolina.
When asked specifically about the Panthers, Thomas said he’d bring toughness, versatility and effort to whatever team gives him a chance.
”Every team is a different situation in regards to what they have and the depth chart and things like that,” he said. “But I feel like I can go to any organization and be a key piece for whatever they want me to do. ... Not just the Panthers, but really any organization that could give me the opportunity.”
NFL Draft projections have Thomas as a Day 3 pick, with NFL.com citing him as an “edge defender who plays with good technique and unwavering energy.” That’s something the Panthers could certainly use at the moment. Carolina saw its pass-rushing corps run bare after trading away OLB Brian Burns and watched as its second- and third-leading sack leaders — Frankie Luvu and Yetur Gross-Matos, respectively — depart in free agency. (The team is in the mix on a few marquee free-agent pass rushers, including Jadeveon Clowney according to a league source, but that doesn’t change the fact that the position will need to be addressed in the upcoming draft.)
The Florence native and one-time Wilson High School star (before transferring to IMG Academy in Florida for his senior year) ran a 4.56 40 dash on Thursday. That number was a bit better than the 4.62 (1.65 10-yard split) he ran at the combine, but still not precisely what he wanted.
“I wanted to run a 4.4,” he said with a smile Thursday. “But it’s all good. My legs locked up on me on the first run again. I extra hydrate and everything, but my legs — I just get too excited. Just get too amped up, that’s all.”
Thomas’s overall production score at the combine — 64 — ranked 16th among edge rushers in this year’s draft class, per NFL Next Gen Stats. But athleticism wasn’t what most teams were inquiring about when it came to Thomas, who notched 3.5 sacks and 25 or more tackles in three of his six years playing.
The question that mostly came up:
Why did he stay at Clemson for six years?
The short answer is a season-ending injury in 2022, mixed in with an extra Covid year.
The truer answer, though, involves a journey of maturity, Thomas said.
“I was supposed to be a three-and-out guy after the first couple years I had here,” Thomas said. “And then that 2020 year hit, and it was all a blessing in disguise, in regard to my journey, in regard to what I had to go through. I’m glad it went the way it did because I wouldn’t have been ready to go. ... If I did go three-and-out, I would’ve probably lasted two years in the league because I wasn’t a grown man yet. I was just a kid.”
Thomas said he was “at his lowest” in 2020 — that he “was ready to quit football and all that type of stuff” in that year. But a re-dedication to God and to football, as well as a “reset” that “turned my life around,” has him where he is today.
“I’m ready to be a professional athlete,” he said.
Charlotte-area native Will Shipley turns heads
There were two collective “whoas” that reverberated through the Clemson Football Complex on Thursday. Both were thanks to Will Shipley.
The first came when the Weddington High School graduate and Charlotte-area native notched a 38.5 in the vertical jump drill, which was the best among Clemson participants and not too off the top results from the running backs at the 2024 combine. The second came when he ran a 4.39 40-yard dash.
Those marks certainly turned heads for Shipley, who as of Thursday was the No. 9 running back prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft, according to Pro Football Focus, and a projected Day 3 draft pick.
The 5-foot-11, 206-pound running back declined to speak to media Thursday. And while some questions still linger about his NFL prospects, he addressed some with authority Thursday.
He showed he was healthy, after tweaking his knee late in the team’s bowl victory over Kentucky in December. He also showed he can catch kickoffs and that he can catch the ball out of the backfield at full speed — if that wasn’t already shown from his 602 receiving yards in his last three years at Clemson.
3 more observations from Clemson Pro Day
▪ Dabo Swinney gave a tour to Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. The Clemson head coach was seen walking with Tomlin throughout the facility Thursday. It’s well-known Tomlin is a Pro Day enthusiast of sorts.
▪ Jeremiah Trotter Jr. was sidelined from Pro Day with a minor hamstring strain. Clemson’s most highly touted prospect who’s slated to be a second-round pick sat out of the drills but still supported his teammates at the event. He and Tomlin — who just so happens to be in the market for an inside linebacker — were seen talking during the event, too.
▪ Nate Wiggins, who also visited with the Panthers, also takes part in Pro Day. Cornerback is another position the Panthers could use some depth at now. Wiggins is considered a Top 10 player at his position and could be a first-round pick. He, too, declined to speak to media after Pro Day.
This story was originally published March 14, 2024 at 12:00 AM.
