Former Clemson Tigers Land on CBS Sports’ NFL Top 100 Players

Two former Tigers have cracked the list heading into the 2025 season

Former Clemson greats are standing out in the NFL / Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

With the 2025 NFL season approaching, analysts have begun evaluating which players are expected to make the biggest impact.

CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco recently released his list of the NFL’s Top 100 players for 2025, ranking former Clemson Tigers Dexter Lawrence and Tee Higgins among the league’s top players.

Lawrence was the highest ranked player among the two, coming in at No. 29.

“Big Dex missed time with an injury last year, but he was a force before being sent to the sidelines. He can play the run as well as anybody, but he can also push the pocket. He's a massive force inside," Prisco said.

Last season, Lawrence made a career-high nine sacks while totaling 44 tackles and one forced fumble through 12 starts with the New York Giants. According to Pro Football Focus, the 6-foot-4 and 340-pound defensive tackle was the second-highest graded player (89.9) at his position last season.

During his time with the Tigers, Lawrence earned a First-team All-American nod in 2018 and was a three-time All-ACC selection (2016, 2017, 2018) while helping Clemson win two National Championships. Over the course of three seasons, he made 131 tackles, 10 sacks and 18 tackles-for-loss.

Lawrence’s Tigers teammate Tee Higgins came in at No.70, after catching 73 passes for 911 yards and 10 touchdowns through 12 games with the Cincinnati Bengals. According to PFF, Higgins was the fifth-highest graded (88.2) wide receiver in the NFL last year.

Through three seasons at Clemson, Higgins was a two-time All-ACC selection (2018, 2019), helping lead the Tigers to a National Championship in 2018. By the time his collegiate career was over, he caught 135 passes for 2,448 yards and 27 touchdowns. 

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