NFL Analyst says Clemson Rookie Can Make an Impact in Year 1

With the second week of preseason action in the books, a longtime NFL analyst published his rookie grades from Week 2 of preseason games.

NFL.com’s Chad Reuter, who has covered the NFL Draft since 2000, graded one noteworthy rookie performance from every game in the second week of the preseason.

Among the rookies that received grades from Reuter is former Clemson and current Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro.

Reuter gave the 6-foot-4, 294-pounder a solid “B+” grade for his performance in the Falcons’ 13-12 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday when Orhorhoro posted a sack.

Based on what Reuter saw, he believes Orhorhoro can make an impact for the Falcons in his first NFL campaign.

“The second-round pick primarily served as a third-down specialist during Atlanta’s loss to Baltimore on Saturday. Orhorhoro logged a total of 12 snaps, and he made a big play on his first one, beating left guard Andrew Vorhees one-on-one with strong hands and upfield quickness to sack Josh Johnson ,” Reuter wrote.

“Orhorhoro bested Vorhees again to make Johnson get rid of the ball quickly late in the first quarter, and he pushed the pocket on other occasions, though he could not reach the passer in time to affect the play during those instances. The former Clemson Tiger found limited success when lined up at five-technique, as he was unable to overpower tackles on the outside. Overall, though, he showed himself capable of making an impact as a pass rusher during his rookie season.”

Orhorhoro was taken by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round (No. 35 overall) on Day 2 of the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit.

Orhorhoro appeared in 53 career games at Clemson from 2019-23 with 30 starts. The coaching staff credited him with 97 tackles (25.5 for loss), 12.0 sacks, nine pass breakups and two fumble recoveries in 1,526 career snaps. He posted 8.0 tackles for loss and a career-high 5.0 sacks in his redshirt senior season in 2023 to collect third-team All-ACC honors.

After he was selected by Atlanta, Orhorhoro drew plenty of praise from Falcons southeast area scout Shepley Heard and defensive line coach Jay Rodgers, both of whom spoke glowingly why the team wanted to pick him.

“You feel like he’s almost a piece of clay that you can continue to mold,” Heard said. “And we feel like he’s going to continue to get better and better. Of course, that’s what we hope.”

“He does some things that a lot of other people can’t do,” Rodgers added, “because of the things that he can bring to the table.”

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