Packers draft pick profiles: Chris McClellan has well rounded skillset

On his growth throughout college and specifically this past year, Hendrickson said: “He was a guy that has really checked a lot of boxes since the middle of the season, through the All-Star process. Just a guy that the more you watched, the more he grew on us.

“Playing in the SEC, there’s a lot of cross pollination when you’re watching tape and especially in the second half of the year, he just seemed to be a guy that, we’re watching an offense play (against) Missouri, it’s kind of like: ‘Who’s that guy?'"

The Stats

The Packers have valued balanced production profiles in defensive tackles over the years, with a proven ability to stop the run and rush the passer. McClellan certainly fits that mold.

His 9.6% pass rush win rate ranked in the 86th percentile among draft eligible defensive tackles in 2025, and he also ranked in the 81st percentile in PFFs Pass Rush Productivity (PRP) metric. Against true pass sets he ranked in the 63rd and 53rd percentile in those stats respectively.

McClellan also posted an 8.1% run stop rate (tackles resulting in a failure for the offense), which ranked in the 85th percentile, and a missed tackle rate against the run of only 5.1%, which ranks him in the 71st percentile.

Among the 26 defensive tackles drafted this year, only Lee Hunter can match or better all his marks for pass rush win rate, run stop rate and missed tackle rate.

Asked why he chose McClellan over a true nose tackle like Domonique Orange, Packers GM Brian Gutekunst said: “Being able to play the nose, the three, and then actually rush the passer, there's a lot of these guys that don't do that. He can, and that was, what set him apart."

The stats show McClellan’s improvement over time. His pressures went from four, to 11, to 18, to 21 in 2025, while his sacks according to PFF went from zero, to one, to three, to five. His tackles rose from 15 to 16 to 25 to 28, and his stop tally from 10 to 12 to 23 to 27.

On his ability to rush the passer, Hendrickson said: “He’s done a nice job when he’s had to hold the point, but he’s also one of those guys, between his pressure and sack production, you better account for him in the passing game."

He also only committed three penalties in four seasons, with one in each of his final three years.

The Tape

The first thing that stands out about McClellan is that he is an imposing figure on the field. He lives up to his measurables and is a grown man with an NFL body. His size, power and length mean reps are usually on his terms and opponents look like they are having to work harder than him.

For a big man he has pretty good movement ability, able to get around the field and attempt to chase plays down without looking awkward or heavy-legged.

Although it is not always present, he does show some juice and explosion in his first step. Left unblocked, he has the quickness to close to the ball carrier and wrap them up.

McClellan is at his best in the run game, where he shows the ability to sacrifice himself for his team or get the glory when given the chance.

He is very hard to move off the spot in run game, even for double teams, as he accepts that role when required, digs in well and remains an obstacle for running backs looking for a lane. Seeing him be knocked back was a rarity in the six games from 2025 I watched.

This ability to plug made him valuable in short yardage/goal line defense for Mizzou. Beyond just holding firm, he flashed the ability to fight through a double team to stuff a run at the goal line.

If he is singled up, McClellan consistently holds the point of attack and while he might not blow up plays left and right, he does his job and does not make life any easier for the offense.

He was excellent at the art of stacking and shedding, getting his long arms into an opponents’ chest, locking out and then discarding his blocker to make plays on the football. He regularly controls reps using just one arm, leaving the other free to reach out of blocks and tackle ball carriers.

Part of the recipe is his ability to locate his hands well when shooting them. McClellan showed he can launch off the line of scrimmage while staying low to maintain his leverage, and land his big mitts onto the pads of offensive linemen.

McClellan has strong ball awareness in the run game. He peeks into the backfield while engaged with blockers and works towards the ball or holds his position if he is in a good spot to plug a run lane. He times his sheds well, and his opponents stay tackled, as he engulfs ball carriers.

He can also win with quickness and hand skill, which shows up in both phases. He uses a swim/arm-over move to get past blockers in a hurry, and can cross the face of O-linemen with or without using a stutter/hesitation to set them up, then utilizing a cross chop to swipe their hands aside.

Once he is working an edge of an opponent as a pass rusher, McClellan’s core strength allows him to pay it off and get into the backfield, often using a rip move to keep himself clean. It is hard for opponents to wash him out of the play or turn the tide back in their favor at that point.

McClellan can also win with brute force as a rusher, although it is not as consistent. His powerful arms and hands jolt offensive linemen back on initial contact at times and he is capable of putting them on their heels, walking them back into the QB’s vicinity.

He needs to give himself a bit of a runway, but his persistence and active hands pair well with raw strength to generate a nice slow burn bull rush. McClellan will split or barrel through gaps as a pass rusher if a body is not placed directly in front of him. He also flashes an effective hump move.

His ball awareness is useful in the passing game as he regularly gets his arms up to try to bat passes if he cannot get home in time. McClellan’s length should help in that regard. In general, he is disruptive pretty consistently as a pass rusher if left one on one.

Some of the more underrated parts of McClellan’s game are the control and energy he plays with. It is rare to see him on the ground or completely out of the play, and he plays with admirable effort to the football, to the whistle, always willing to help make sure a ball carrier is down.

He strains to keep working towards the ball while engaged with blockers, even well outside of the tackle box, and will fight tooth and nail to drag down or trip up running backs if he is close enough. McClellan gets late pressures through his persistence to keep working through blockers.

His 550 snaps in 2025 ranked 24th among 319 draft-eligible defensive tackles, and he did not tire as games wore on.

After playing 50+ snaps against Mississippi State and Texas A&M, he was still making plays at the end of the contests, not being moved off his spot, working to the ball and shedding blocks to make tackles.

He was also a very consistent player. McClellan did not have a PFF grade of lower than 61.5 in any individual game in 2025 (60 is average).

In terms of weaknesses, a lack of agility (whether his testing is legitimate or not) is probably the only physical issue. McClellan does not look outlandishly stiff on tape, but he could struggle to finish plays in the backfield if he has to adjust at the last second against slippery opponents.

From a technique standpoint, McClellan’s biggest flaw, and something he will have to wrestle with as a bigger defensive tackle, is his pad level.

Too often he pops straight up off the snap, which mostly impacts his pass rush as he then just hurtles into the offensive line hoping for the best, with mostly disappointing results.

He needs a better pass rush plan to win the long way, as he is mostly just operating with power and effort right now. Against double teams especially he can get shut out quickly and the rep is over.

McClellan was also not super dynamic or effective on loops and stunts, and his burst off the line as a pass rusher is inconsistent at best.

Alabama committed to double teaming him in the run game, and while that is a compliment, he was moved off the spot more often in that contest than the rest of the games combined that I watched. He struggled to dig in at times or even get himself in position to do so.

There may not be much he could have done differently, and Alabama has some physical offensive linemen who are going to get theirs, but that is the kind of athlete he will be coming up against at the next level, or even better.

He is mostly displaced laterally than backwards when it does happen, and at times he can twist himself around and lose sight of where the ball is when trying to battle against double teams, allowing runs to go right by without him making a shed or tackle attempt.

McClellan will sometimes win the battle but lose the war, shedding to the wrong side of an opponent rather than straining to close a run lane even if it means he cannot get off the block

Developing in the mental side of the game will be important, as he tends to react to the first action he sees and can be caught out by fakes or trick plays.

He failed to sniff out a screen multiple times and can also be turned and trapped inside on outside runs. McClellan needs to improve his understanding and anticipation of how teams are going to try to take him away.

While his floor is high, it can be argued he does not have a special trait to elevate his ceiling, although his pure size and length may border on it.

Overall, McClellan is a grown man who plays hard and plays a lot, is hard to move, and uses his length to stack and shed in the run game. He has some quickness and skill to win as a rusher and flashes power to go the long way, but needs to keep pads low and have more of a plan.

He should be able to help the Packers as a rookie even if it is in a rotational role, as either a nose tackle or 3-technique, and should develop into a solid starting defensive tackle over time.

This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers draft pick profiles: Chris McClellan has well rounded skillset