Clemson's Ashton Hampton Flagged for One NFL Draft Concern

Clemson Tigers cornerback Ashton Hampton is not just one of the best players at his position; he is one of the top NFL Draft prospects in the country.

Hampton has been thoroughly dominant thus far in 2026, having registered 19 tackles, a couple of tackles for loss, an interception and nine passes defended through six games.

His Pro Football Focus coverage rating is at an 83.9, and his overall grade is 81.2.

There is no question that the junior defender has been brilliant, and he should be a first-round pick next April.

ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. recently ranked Hampton 13th on his top prospect big board, making him the No. 2 cornerback on the list. Only Notre Dame's Leonard Moore was ahead of him.

Kiper raved about Hampton's all-around ability, noting his penchant for disrupting wide receivers at the line of scrimmage. However, Kiper did cite one concern for Hampton: his ball skills.

Hampton has accumulated a grand total of four interceptions since arriving at Clemson in 2024, and two of those came during his freshman campaign.

Now, to be fair, an argument can be made that the ball does not get thrown Hampton's way enough because his coverage is so tight, but he has been targeted enough where he has accrued 18 passes defended the last two seasons.

So clearly, Hampton is getting opportunities.

I do feel like the interceptions will come. Hampton is incredibly gifted as an athlete, and at 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, he possesses tremendous size for his position.

He has all of the tools necessary to produce turnovers on the NFL level, and I absolutely expect him to do so.

For now, professional teams can simply bank on his outstanding coverage skills, not to mention his savvy and intelligence in the secondary.

Hampton is a major reason why Clemson's defense has been so good this year, and for as impressive as Avieon Terrell was last season, Hampton has been far superior.

In fact, a legitimate argument can be made that it was Hampton, not Terrell, who was the Tigers' best cornerback in 2025.

Terrell ended up getting selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round of the draft last spring. It would be a stunner if Hampton falls to Day 2.

There is still plenty of time left in the regular season for Hampton to improve even more, and it would be nice to see him collect a couple of picks down the stretch.