CLEMSON, S.C. — The first day of the 2023 NFL Draft in Kansas City, Missouri saw Clemson make a late run with back-to-back selections featuring former Tiger defenders.
The Cincinnati Bengals selected defensive end Myles Murphy with the 28th overall selection. The next team on the clock was New Orleans who grabbed defensive tackle Bryan Bresee with the No. 29 overall selection.
The consecutive selections of Murphy and Bresee gave Clemson back-to-back first-round picks in a single draft for the first time in program history. The duo became the third Clemson tandem to be drafted back-to-back in any round all-time, joining Chris Clemons and Lamar's Michael Hamlin in 2009 and Marcus Gilchrist and Bamberg's Da'Quan Bowers in 2011.
Clemson has produced at least one first-round pick in nine of the last 11 drafts, one of only five schools with at least one first-round pick in at least nine of the last 11 drafts, alongside Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Ohio State.
Thursday’s first-round marked the eighth NFL Draft in which Clemson has produced multiple first-round picks, joining the 1979, 1982, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2021 first rounds. Clemson has had multiple players selected in the first round in four of the last five — and six of the last nine — drafts.
Murphy followed consensus Top 5 national status in the 2020 recruiting class with an all-conference career at Clemson from 2020-22. After earning Freshman All-America status in 2020, he earned a 2021 All-America selection from Phil Steele. He played 38 career games with 27 starts for Clemson and Gaines Adams, Vic Beasley and Clelin Ferrell as the only Clemson players since 2000 to post multiple seasons with multiple forced fumbles and at least four sacks.
“On pure talent, I would probably name Myles with Gaines Adams as far as the combination of length, strength, athleticism, ability to bend, natural explosive power,” Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney said. “He is really, really, really special.”
Bresee entered Clemson in 2020 as the nation’s No. 1 prospect in his recruiting class and also earned Freshman All-America status that season in addition to earning ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year. This past season, he earned All-ACC honors and was named as a semifinalist for the Lott IMPACT Trophy despite battling a myriad of issues that included family tragedy and personal health concerns.
“Bryan is a guy that could be a Pro Bowler for years to come. He has that in him,” Swinney said. “And I'm just excited for the Saints because his best football is in front of him.”
Overall, Clemson has now had at least one player selected in the NFL Draft in 21 consecutive years, adding to Clemson’s second-longest such streak. Clemson previously had at least one player selected in the NFL Draft every year across the 1951-74 NFL Drafts, a span of 24 years.
