Chris McClellan Scouting Report: Packers rookie shows plenty of flashes

COLUMBIA, MO - NOVEMBER 15: Missouri Tigers defensive lineman Chris McClellan (7) sacks Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback Blake Shapen (2) in the first quarter of an SEC football game between the Mississippi State Bulldogs and Missouri Tigers on November 15, 2025 at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, MO. (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

13 days ago, the Green Bay Packers moved up seven spots in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft to take defensive tackle Chris McClellan out of Missouri.

While some Packers fans (and the vast majority of the APC staff) were hoping for the team to land Iowa State's Domonique Orange, Brian Gutekunst and his staff opted to move up to take McClellan, banking on his physical tools and play style over other defensive tackle prospects still on the board in the third round.

McClellan was a four-year contributor in college, spending his first two seasons with the Florida Gators before transferring to Missouri in 2024. He finished his college career with 133 tackles (39 solo), 10.5 sacks, four pass breakups, 72 defensive stops, and 54 pressures.

While the athletic testing isn't particularly impressive, the physical measurements are what stand out with McClellan. His 34-inch arms are very good for a defensive tackle, while his 11-inch hands were the biggest recorded hand size of any player at *any* position at this year's NFL Scouting Combine.

Chris McClellan is a DT prospect in the 2026 draft class. He scored an unofficial 8.48 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 313 out of 2046 DT from 1987 to 2026.

Splits projected, all times unofficial, agilities left to run.https://t.co/TI1WBlY2Eqpic.twitter.com/xCOSYsckfj

- RAS.football (@MathBomb) February 26, 2026

Third-round picks aren't typically instant impact players, but there's a lot to like about McClellan's tape, so let's dive into some of his biggest strengths and weaknesses heading into the NFL.

For clips and more in-depth analysis on these traits, check out the latest episode of Packers Rookie Preview below.

Strengths

#Missouri IDL Chris McClellan is one of my favorites in the 2026 IDL draft class.

Really good hand usage and explosiveness, great technique overall, and improved his sack production with 6 this past season. Top-100 on my Big Board. pic.twitter.com/ErgT8LR1jS

- Andy (@AndyyNFL) March 11, 2026

One of the things that immediately stands out on tape with McClellan is how powerful his upper body is. Even when he's unable to get his hand placed correctly or engaging from proper angles, the Packers rookie does a great job of shedding off blocks thanks to his length and strength to get himself free.

That upper body play strength also shows up as a bull rusher, allowing him to get extended with good leg drive to collapse the pocket. When fully extended, he can also maximize that strength to hold the point of attack against the run and prevent being washed out with some surprising balance from awkward angles.

As a pass rusher, McClellan also flashes some surprising quickness for his size. He has a good feel for being able to set up blockers to commit and prep for his bull rush from a certain angle, then quickly cross their face with an effective swim move to work his way into the face of the quarterback.

Weaknesses

For as strong as McClellan is in his upper body, I still have some concerns with his lower body strength to anchor against double teams and bigger road graders in the run game, especially when he's unable to keep his pads low. While his tape has some flashes of being able to anchor down, there's not a ton of consistency in that area to the point I'd be a bit worried about him being a primary option as a nose tackle on Green Bay's defense.

There are also some lapses in gap discipline when watching McClellan, vacating his gap in some certain blitz packages that opens up some huge rushing lanes for running backs. He can also lose track of the ball when engaged with blockers, getting himself out of position when unblocked.

The good news is that a lot of these deficiencies feel fixable, and while McClellan will never be the most disruptive, explosive, or agile interior defender, cleaning up some of the discipline issues while improving his lower body strength will make him an effective rotational defensive tackle.