This week, Pro Football Focus published a list of the top three players for every NFL team entering the 2022 season, and several former Clemson stars were named among the best players for their respective squads.
Five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins was named one of the Arizona Cardinals’ top three players, while two former Tiger standouts — cornerback A.J. Terrell and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett — made the Falcons’ top three along with former Florida tight end Kyle Pitts.
“Terrell and Pitts give Atlanta one foundational piece to build around on each side of the ball,” PFF’s Ben Linsey wrote. “Terrell is coming off a 2021 season in which he allowed just under two receptions and 12.5 receiving yards per game…
“Jarrett doesn’t quite fit that same timeline as one of the few players on the roster who dates back to Atlanta’s Super Bowl team, but he’s still one of its defensive cornerstones. Jarrett earned 80.0-plus PFF grades in every season from 2017 to 2020 before a slight dip last year (67.6).”
Former Clemson wide receiver Tee Higgins, meanwhile, was named one of the Cincinnati Bengals’ top three players along with fellow receiver Ja’Marr Chase and their quarterback, Joe Burrow.
“Chase and Higgins both finished the 2021 season as top-10 wide receivers in PFF grade,” Linsey wrote. “It was clear that those two, along with Tyler Boyd, played a big role in Burrow’s second-year jump.”
Former Clemson defensive lineman D.J. Reader was mentioned among the players “also considered” for the Bengals’ top-three list, while quarterback Deshaun Watson was considered for the Browns and former Tiger defensive lineman Christian Wilkins and Dexter Lawrence were considered for the Miami Dolphins and New York Giants, respectively.
Last but not least, Trevor Lawrence was named as a top-three player for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“Lawrence’s inclusion is based largely on who he was as a prospect coming out of Clemson and the glimpses shown as a rookie,” Linsey wrote. “The disastrous environment he was thrown into last season takes much of the blame for his 59.6 PFF grade as a rookie.”
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