2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Clemson CB Nate Wiggins

From now until the 2024 NFL Draft, we will scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top-10 picks, all the way down to Day 3 selections and priority undrafted free agents. Today, a scouting report on Clemson CB Nate Wiggins.

#2 Nate Wiggins/CB Clemson – 6013, 173 lbs. (Junior)

MEASUREMENTS

The Good

– Tall and long corner, looks the part
– Fluid and athletic, smooth mover with good change of direction ability
– Great speed in open field and able to match routes vertically
– Contests downfield throws well, impressive leaper who judges and high-points the ball well
– Aggressive and wants to make plays on the football, not looking to simply make the tackle
– Fantastic chase and effort, doesn’t give up on plays and fights hard at the catch point to rip ball out
– Shows burst and closing speed to create hit power downhill
– Transitions well out of pedal
– Not prone to biting on double moves and patient player in coverage
– Physical press corner, able to reroute and jam receivers off the line
– Experienced man-coverage corner
– Spent time playing both outside corner spots and a bit in the slot; predominantly field side corner tasked to cover a lot of ground
– Aggressive with an alpha mentality
– Threat post-interception with two career pick-sixes

The Bad

– Leaner frame and could add muscle and get stronger
– Inconsistent tackler and run defender, poor run fits, and struggles with crack/replace rules
– Can shoot too low as a tackler and miss
– Aggressive mindset and is late to open his hips, causing him to get stacked vertically
– Can lose out on jump balls
– Less experience in zone coverage
– Didn’t pick off a ton of passes

Bio

– 34 career games (18 starts) for Tigers, 1,377 snaps
– Turns 21 in August
– Career: 60 tackles (3 TFL), 24 PDs, 3 INTs, 2 FFs, 1 FG block
– 2023: 29 tackles (1 TFL), 8 PDs, 2 INTs, 2 FFs
– 2023 first-team All-ACC
– Four-star recruit from Atlanta
– Chose Clemson over Auburn, Florida, and Georgia among many other schools (initially committed to LSU before flipping)
– Five kick/punt return touchdowns as a senior in HS
– Had D-I offers to play wide receiver
– Started Wiggs Worldwide Foundation to help underserved members of his community
– Admitted he was immature his freshman season, not going to class, being late to practice, called “very immature” by head coach Dabo Swinney but praised for becoming more mature and accountable throughout rest of career

Tape Breakdown

If you’re looking for athletic cover corners, Clemson Tigers CB Nate Wiggins is your man. There are plenty of solid corners in this year’s class, but Wiggins will be regarded as one of the best in coverage. On a baseline level, he has all the traits you look for. Tall, long, athletic, he’s a leaper with plus ball skills. He matches top receivers and can cover the entire route tree. Love this last rep against Duke.

What sticks out isn’t just his ability to cover. Wiggins has two of the most impressive effort plays you’ll see of any prospect this draft season. Two fantastic chase-down forced fumbles to save touchdowns. Check them out.

On tape, Wiggins’ tackling and run defense are hit and miss. There are moments of him making open-field stops, mostly in coverage, but his run fits were iffy, and he had a terrible showing against Duke. Twice, he got caught on a crack/replace running plays, leading to big runs by the Blue Devils. He also missed a tackle on QB Riley Leonard that led to a touchdown. This was the worst game of this example I saw but it was pretty brutal.

He can also be too aggressive in his pedal and late to open his hips. Confident in himself, he can lose vertically and has to recover. That might work in college, but he’ll have to walker a finer line in the NFL.

One of the youngest players in the class, he won’t turn 21 until August. He and his coaches admitted he had a lack of maturity his freshman season but he seemed to grow up and turn the corner, initially homesick before getting to class, improving his grades, and being more accountable.

Conclusion

Overall, Wiggins is an impressive cover corner. His tackling and run defense must be improved and cleaned up but they’re secondary issues. The dude can play the pass. Really interesting prospect with high-end traits and tape. Certainly someone the Steelers should be doing their homework on, and I imagine they will. My NFL comp is Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. 

Projection: Mid-Late Day One
Depot Draft Grade: 8.8 – Year One Quality Starter (1st Round)
Games Watched: at Duke (2023), vs Florida State (2023), vs North Carolina (2023), at Miami (FL – 2023)