DJ Uiagalelei, QB Clemson: Offseason 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Uiagalelei was a five-star recruit from St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, Calif. in the class of 2020

Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei made a name for himself when he stepped in for Trevor Lawrence in 2020. Unfortunately, Uiagalelei’s success as a true freshman didn’t translate to his first season as a full-time starter. The former five-star recruit had a horrendous sophomore campaign, which tanked his 2023 NFL Draft stock.

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DJ Uiagalelei, QB Clemson: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Junior quarterback from Inland Empire, Calif.

Background: Uiagalelei was a five-star recruit from St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, Calif. in the class of 2020. He was the No. 10 recruit according to 247Sports, No. 3 for Rivals, and No. 13 for On3.com. ESPN ranked him 43rd in the nation with an 86 grade out of 100. Uiagalelei completed 585 of 871 pass attempts for 10,496 yards, 127 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions in his high school career. He also ran for 1,103 yards and 18 touchdowns. He led St. John Bosco to a 13-1 record and state championship in 2019. Uiagalelei completed 222 of 344 passes for 4,225 yards, 48 touchdowns, and two interceptions in 2019 to accompany 412 rushing yards and eight additional touchdowns. As a high school junior, he completed 179 of 257 passes for 3,366 yards, 48 touchdowns, and seven interceptions while carrying the ball 50 times for 312 yards and six touchdowns. As a sophomore, Uiagalelei completed 184 of 270 pass attempts for 2,905 yards, 31 touchdowns, and two interceptions. He played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Uiagalelei also played basketball and baseball in high school. His fastball could reach the mid-90s. Uiagalelei has a younger brother (Matayo). He was born on April 17, 2001.

2021 Production: 13 games, 374 attempts, 208 completions, 2,246 yards, 9 touchdowns, 10 interceptions + 105 carries, 308 yards, 4 touchdowns

2020 Production: 10 games, 117 attempts, 78 completions, 914 yards, 5 touchdowns + 28 carries, 60 yards, 4 touchdowns

Injuries & Off-Field: Battled a shoulder injury in 2020, suffered a sprained knee against Louisville (2021), wore a splint on his throwing hand’s index finger (2021) but didn’t miss a game

Awards: 2020 ACC Honor Roll selection, 2021 ACC Honor Roll selection

Pros: Authored a comeback win against Boston College and went to double overtime against No. 4 Notre Dame as a true freshman, even if he loses weight he’ll still have a large & powerful frame, great designed QB run/sneak short-yardage option because of his size, enough mobility to roam or escape the pocket, comfortable throwing on the run, his time to throw is on the fast side for NFL quarterbacks, far exceeds all of the requirements for arm talent, strong arm capable of hitting deep throws and driving the ball into small windows, he can put the ball on a rope, some examples of dropping the ball in a bucket 30 yards downfield, plays through injuries

Cons: Not someone who will run much at the next level, won’t threaten NFL teams with his speed as a runner, his release in 2020 sometimes drove the ball too low, fumbled four times in 2020 and nine times in 2021, Clemson’s scheme put him in plenty of play action and ran lots of screens, his release carries some unnecessary movement, his feet look like cement bricks in the pocket at times, there’s not much natural bounce in his feet, pre-snap and mid-play processing aren’t where they need to be, decision-making leads to challenging double coverages and lobbing 50-50 balls while under pressure, ball placement often puts his wide receivers at disadvantages, too many misfires where he’s throwing it over his receiver’s head or straight into the dirt, waits too long to hit open receivers, often didn’t see corners driving on his receivers or safeties moving to double cover which led to interceptions, his sense of touch is all over the place, used to playing with tall receivers and it shows, doesn’t know when to throw the ball away

Overview: Uiagalelei is unofficially listed at 6'4", 250 lbs. However, head coach Dabo Swinney mentioned that Uiagalelei lost weight ahead of the upcoming season. The former five-star faced an uphill battle in 2021. He played behind a woefully underequipped offensive line (he was pressured on about 30% of his pass attempts) in a system that offensive coordinator Tony Elliott failed to adjust for his current personnel. Clemson’s pass catchers also dropped 24 catchable throws last year. While there are plenty of valid explanations for why Uiagalelei struggled, they don’t erase just how poorly he performed. Expectations were sky-high for the California native after two impressive starts as a true freshman, but Uiagalelei didn’t improve on his flaws from 2020 to 2021, which became magnified as the season progressed.

Overall, Uiagalelei is not a draftable quarterback based on his 2021 tape. Despite a promising start to his college career, he’s failed to display the accuracy, ball placement, decision-making, processing, and touch required of an NFL quarterback. Uiagalelei’s draft projection relies heavily on his arm talent and untapped potential.

Role & Scheme Fit: Spread offense with a vertical passing attack scheme -- possibly a screen and RPO heavy scheme

Round Projection: Mid Seventh to UDFA

Player Comparison: N/A

Submitted: 07-31-22