Two Tigers look to crash the NFL draft first round party

Trenton Simpson looks to be surprise name called in Thursday's first round.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Thu Apr 27 12:16:06 GMT-04:00 2023

Clemson looks to have one player that will go in the first round of the NFL Draft Thursday night, but two other players hope to crash that party.

Yes, the NFL Draft is Thursday night and the festivities will get started when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell takes to the microphone at Kansas City’s Union Station to declare the 2023 NFL Draft officially open. The Carolina Panthers hold the No. 1 pick.

The draft is a three-day event spanning April 27-29. The broadcast of Round 1 will begin at 8 p.m. on Thursday. The draft resumes Friday with coverage of the second and third rounds beginning at 7 p.m. Rounds 4-7 will take place Saturday starting at noon.

All 259 picks made during the seven rounds of the NFL Draft will air on ABC, ESPN and NFL Network. For those who stream, you can do that via fuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, Sling TV or through the ESPN and NFL apps.

Myles Murphy is projected by some to be a potential Top-10 pick, while other experts say Murphy could go later in the first round.

That leaves defensive tackle Bryan Bresee and Trenton Simpson, who both appear at this point, to go in the second round. But NFL draft insider Tom Pellisaro says that both Bresee and Simpson have a chance to be two of six surprise first-round picks.

Here is what he has to say about Simpson:

A few off-ball linebackers have a shot to sneak into Round 1, and Simpson's athletic upside is off the charts. He's big (6-2 3/8, 235 pounds with a 77 1/2-inch wingspan), fast (second among linebackers at the combine with a 4.43 40-yard dash) and strong (25 bench reps). His 40 1/2-inch vertical leap at Clemson's pro day would've led all LBs in Indianapolis. He participated in 37 college games (27 starts), but really only played a true linebacker role last season. Instincts are the question, and Simpson will need some time to develop in the NFL. One executive compared Simpson to Anthony Barr, a versatile linebacker who earned four Pro Bowl bids during his time in Minnesota.

And here is what he has to say about Bresee:

After Georgia's Jalen Carter, whose own draft stock will be a big storyline, there isn't another defensive tackle considered to be a lock to go in Round 1. But don't overlook Bresee, a first-team All-ACC pick as a true freshman in 2020 before a series of injuries and other challenges impacted his trajectory. He tore his ACL in September of 2021 and had shoulder surgery in January of 2022. Then he missed three games last season with a kidney infection plus another because of strep throat. And this past September, he lost his sister, Ella, after her battle with an aggressive form of brain cancer. Overweight at times last season (related to the kidney infection), Bresee was a svelte 6-5 1/2 and 298 pounds at the combine. He's long (32 1/2-inch arms), fast (4.86 40), strong (28 bench reps at Clemson's pro day) and brings coveted interior pass rush (nine career sacks) if he can recapture his pre-ACL form.