Jackson Carman Makes a Little Clemson History in NFL Draft

Jackson Carman continued what had already been a historical draft by Clemson when he was drafted with the 38th overall pick by the Bengals on Saturday.

With the pick Carman became Clemson’s highest-selected offensive lineman since the Detroit Lions chose guard Dave Thompson with the 30th overall pick in the 1971 NFL Draft. The pick also gave Clemson back-to-back drafts where at least one offensive lineman was selected for the first time since 2007-08.

Head coach Dabo Swinney compared Carman to another Bengal and former Tiger.

“The Bengals are getting a first-round talent like Tee Higgins last year, Swinney said.” “Tee Higgins went in the second round, but he was a top-15 talent and I think you saw that in how he played. Tee Higgins was a ready-to-go guy right out of the gate with his best football still in front of him and he left early right after his junior year, and I would say the same exact thing about Jackson.”

Carman, a 6-foot-4, 317-pound tackle, was named second-team All-ACC this past season while starting every game at left tackle. As an Ohio native, Carman was glad it was the Bengals that drafted him.

This marked the second straight draft where a Clemson player was selected by his home state team. Last year it was former Tiger cornerback A.J. Terrell who went to the Atlanta Falcons with the 16th overall pick. Carman will now play home games in Cincinnati which is less than 25 miles from his high school in Fairfield, Ohio.

Carman came to the Tigers program highly touted as a five-star recruit out of high school. During his collegiate career at Clemson he logged 1,934 snaps over the course of 40 career games and was a starter at the ever important left tackle spot the past two seasons.

He is also a player who provides position versatility for a Cincinnati squad that needs a lot of help getting better. The Bengals gave up an AFC North-worst 48 sacks and allowed a division-high 191 pressures last season. Even though Carman played tackle during his career as a Tiger, he’s likely moving to guard at the next level. The Bengals were sold on his ability as an interior lineman and it showed with this pick.