Clemson LB Comes off the Board in 5th Round

A multi-time Clemson All-American, and NFL legacy, came off the board during Day 3 of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Former Tiger linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. thrilled his father when he heard his name called in the draft on Saturday as the Eagles selected him in the 5th round with the No. 155 overall pick.

The son of 12-year NFL linebacker and four-time Pro Bowler Jeremiah “Axe Man” Trotter, Trotter Jr.’s selection in this year’s draft makes him the first Clemson player to join his father as an NFL Draft pick since 2020, when wide receiver Amari Rodgers — the son of quarterback and 2000 NFL Draft pick Tee Martin — was selected by the Green Bay Packers.

Trotter Jr. — about whom both head coach Dabo Swinney and defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin joked “has been a middle linebacker since he was in diapers” — collected second-team All-America honors from the Associated Press, third-team All-America status from Pro Football Focus and All-ACC honors from select individual outlets in 2022.

In 2023, Trotter Jr. again earned All-America status from numerous outlets and was a Butkus Award finalist before declaring for the draft.

Last season, Trotter was credited with a team-high 88 tackles, a team-best 15.0 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, six pass breakups, two forced fumbles and two interceptions (including a pick-six) over 12 games as a junior.

Trotter Jr. finished his Clemson career with 202 tackles, 29.5 tackles for loss, 13 sacks, 13 pass breakups, three forced fumbles and four interceptions (including two returned for touchdowns) over 39 career games from 2021-23.

ESPN NFL Draft analyst Matt Miller believes Trotter Jr. will make an immediate impact at the next level, saying earlier this spring that he sees him as “an instant two-down starter at the linebacker position” in the NFL, “and somebody who’s going to be a rookie starter and really a core player for a defense.”

Miller likened the 6-foot, 228-pounder to Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton, a second-round pick in the 2021 draft out of Missouri.

“His hash-to-hash range is really, really good,” Miller said of Trotter. “His ability to diagnose is great. He’s just a little bit old school in terms of build – it’s more strength than it is speed.

“But again, going back to the Super Bowl, Nick Bolton for the Chiefs is a lot like that as well. People said he was too slow coming out of college or he was too short coming out of college. Now he’s the captain at linebacker for a back-to-back Super Bowl championship team.”

–Clemson Athletic Communications contributed to this story

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