In a defensive tackle class where many guys chose not to test at the NFL Combine, there was a lot to gain for those who did. Florida defensive tackle Caleb Banks was the biggest winner of the position group. He’ll be out of reach for the Green Bay Packers, but Clemson’s DeMonte Capehart is a similar player who could fall to them.
Banks, the 6’6”, 335 lb. monster was already a projected first-round pick, but there were questions about how he’d move at that size, and he answered them with a 9.87 Relative Athletic Score (RAS). Of the guys that tested and are reasonably available for Green Bay, Capehart is the biggest winner.
DeMonte Capehart came into Thursday as a projected Day 3 pick and 174th on the consensus big board. However, many of his peers around or in front of him on boards either tested well but are smaller than what Green Bay is likely looking for, like Zane Durant, Gracen Halton, and Kaleb Proctor. Meanwhile, some didn’t test well, like Lee Hunter, or didn’t test at all, like Dontay Corleone, Domonique Orange, and Darrell Jackson.
Still, all those guys who tested poorly or didn’t test at all will be able to prove themselves at their pro day. But people noticed when Capehart posted a 9.97 RAS while showcasing all the explosive metrics you want to see in a DT at his size.
You may not think of DT as a position where 40 times matter because they don’t typically run too far in a game, but they matter because they show explosiveness out of the three-point stance. Capehart ran a 4.85 40 at 6’5” 313 lbs. with a 1.72 10-yard split, along with a 33.5” vertical. That’s all the explosiveness you want to see in a DT and then some.
So, why is a guy with that size and athleticism only projected to go on Day 3?
There are a few reasons. First, Clemson’s 2025 season was a disaster. Clemson came into the season ranked fourth with National Championship aspirations and finished the season 7-6.
DeMonte Capehart was part of an extremely talented defensive line that underperformed wildly in 2026. Peter Woods and T.J. Parker were the headline names coming into 2025. Woods and Parker were projected to be top-10 to -15 picks in August, and both have now fallen into the mid to late first range. In Parker’s case, he could even fall to Day 2.
However, Clemson fans will tell you the coaching staff’s deployment of talent has been an abomination for years. Based on the talent that’s come through there and the results, it’s hard to fault them for thinking that.
Capehart may be a victim of that. He was once a high-level recruit, ranked 54th in the 2020 class – yes, 2020. He took a while to find his footing at Clemson, but eventually became a rotation player for multiple years. Capehart was finally a starter this past season, his sixth, playing 347 defensive snaps.
If you didn’t catch it, he was a part of the 2020 class. That Clemson class featured DJ Uiagalelei, Bryan Bresee, and Myles Murphy, all guys who are long gone from Death Valley. Therefore, he’s 23.6 years old, on the much older side, but Devonte Wyatt was 24 when the Packers drafted him in the first round.
However, Capehart finally showcased some of his talent this season. At the combine, he showed that the athleticism that made him a top four-star recruit is still there. Going into this past season, experts billed him as a breakout candidate because of his pedigree and finally being in line to start. While he didn’t truly break out, merely getting starters’ snaps and being a freak athlete who was once highly recruited has allowed him to rise from not being drafted to a Day 3 or even potentially a late Day 2 pick.
On the field, 282 of his 347 snaps this past season came in the B Gap, with most of the rest of his snaps at nose tackle. Capehart is a run stuffer first, with a 9.5 run-stop efficiency and 7.5 missed-tackle rate, per Football Insights. He had a 74.5 PFF run grade and an 8.6 PFF run-stop rate. His elite and explosive testing also suggests some pass-rush potential. He posted a 7.8 pass rush win efficiency per Football Insights and posted average pass rush grades all around on PFF despite having just one sack and 11 pressures last season.
Capehart is the perfect complement in both play style and body type to Devonte Wyatt. If Green Bay hasn’t addressed the interior defensive line by day 3 and Capehart is still available, he makes a ton of sense.
DeMonte Capehart has been buried under a pile of other high-level recruits and a coaching staff that underutilizes its talent, resulting in seats as hot as they possibly can be. Still, he may be the diamond in the rough Green Bay is searching for.
