McFadden feels good about his work put in as NFL draft approaches

Jordan McFadden has put in the work to move up draft boards going into next month's event. (Photo: Kirby Lee / USATODAY)

by Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - Mon Mar 20 14:04:07 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON - Former Clemson offensive lineman Jordan McFadden has perhaps been flying under the radar for offensive line prospects in the upcoming 2023 NFL Draft. However, his participation at the NFL Combine and Clemson Pro Day has helped him to get more exposure to NFL teams, an opportunity he took advantage of.

“It’s been a journey for sure. There’s highs and lows, things obviously that are tiring,” McFadden said. “Not a lot of people get to go on. (They) don’t get the opportunity to go to the Combine and play in the NFL. So, I’m just appreciative of my opportunity and trying to make the most of it.”

One thing that certainly played in his favor was his 40-yard dash time at the NFL Combine back in the beginning of March. In fact, he was one of only five offensive linemen this year to run a 40-yard dash time under five seconds at 4.99. The fastest time from an offensive lineman was Broderick Jones out of Georgia at 4.97 seconds.

“I really wasn’t sure what I was going to run. I was hoping to run a 4.9; that was the goal for me, to be able to know that I did that and very few offensive linemen do that,” McFadden said. “Definitely is special to me for sure. Someone will always be able to look up my name and see a four in front and not a five, so that is always good to feel good to me for sure.”

Looking at a career in the NFL, McFadden is most likely going to have to switch positions to being a center because of his size at 6-foot-2 and 303 pounds. His height is one of the shortest among offensive linemen going into the draft this year, while his weight ranks in the No. 19 percentile. He had some other drills that he performed well at the Combine, such as his three cone time (No. 63 percentile) and vertical (No. 56 percentile). Still, he wanted to put a little more on display for Clemson’s Pro Day.

“I wanted to get some snaps in and show different teams that I have the ability to snap and just play multiple positions,” McFadden said. “I feel good about (it). I feel good about what I’ve put on display at the Combine.”

At Clemson’s Pro Day, McFadden also had the support of his family. Having the support of your loved ones is always important, although he said that having his family there didn’t cause any “pressure” for him to perform better because they are always there for him.

“I knew they’ll support me, good, bad or ugly. I just wanted to make them proud,” McFadden said. “But I didn’t feel any pressure to perform any certain way.”

Going into the NFL Draft, per NFL Draft Buzz, he will most likely not be drafted. However, he has a higher prospect grade from the NFL’s Next Gen Stats; they view him as a good backup with the potential to become a starter at some point. Therefore, if he is drafted, it will probably not be until the third day of the draft. Still, he is yet another Clemson prospect to keep an eye on going into the Draft. The third day is on April 29 (12 p.m./NFL Network).