A powerful Clemson defensive force, polarizing in NFL circles, finds a potential fit with a contender ready to build through the trenches in a new CBS Sports' mock draft.
Despite finishing with a 7-6 record in 2025, Clemson was not without significant talent on the roster.
Matt Renner of CBS Sports has three Tigers going in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft: OL Blake Miller, CB Avieon Terrell and DL Peter Woods.
Woods earned 30 total tackles and two sacks in 2025. The junior from Alabaster, Alabama finished his three-year career with 82 total tackles, two forced fumbles, and five sacks.
CBS Sports projects Woods as the eighth-best prospect in the draft and the No. 1 player at his position.
Renner has the Los Angeles Chargers selecting Woods with the No. 22 pick.
"Jim Harbaugh loves building through the trenches, and the chance to land a physical specimen like Woods may be too good to pass up," Renner wrote.
"He's uniquely powerful for a young defensive tackle, even if his tape this past fall didn't match what we saw in 2024. Harbaugh always gets his defensive tackles to play their best, and that's a scary thought when it comes to Woods."
Woods has the talent, but there is some skepticism in NFL circles about the defensive lineman. ESPN's Field Yates called him a "polarizing" figure for teams.
"Woods is a polarizing evaluation for scouts," Yates wrote. "He's an explosive, twitchy, powerful defensive tackle with natural disruption skills.
"But there's a worry about his shorter frame/arms, and his skill set did not often lead to production (only five sacks in three college seasons)."
Before the 2025 season, Clemson defensive line coach Nick Eason said Woods needed to be a more consistent player before jumping to the league.
"It just comes down to consistency for Peter, being consistent, taking care of his body and just being what he's capable of being," Eason said. "And I've challenged him in the area of his life to be better, and he's responded to that, so I'm really proud of him for that.
"And I think that it just starts with those daily decisions, daily habits. It comes down to just taking care of his body, leading from the front and all the workouts. It's about what you eat, how you eat, it's about how you sleep, it's the little things."
The Chargers would be an optimal place for Woods to land in the league. Harbaugh has a great history of developing players in the trenches.
With some buy-in from Woods, he could become an All-Pro defensive lineman on a team that projects to be a Super Bowl contender.