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Pros, cons of Dallas Cowboys picking Clemson's Phil Mafah in 2025 NFL Draft
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- Pros, cons of Dallas Cowboys picking Clemson's Phil Mafah in 2025 NFL Draft
Running back Phil Mafah from Clemson football is officially an NFL rookie after the Dallas Cowboys picked him in the 2025 NFL Draft on April 26.
Mafah was selected No. 239 overall with the 23rd pick in the seventh round. He is Clemson 's first offensive player taken in this year's draft.
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Here's what Mafah brings to Dallas, based on our own observations from his tenure at Clemson :
What Phil Mafah brings to Dallas Cowboys in 2025 NFL Draft
Mafah, 6-foot-1 and 234 pounds, recorded 1,115 yards rushing on 216 carries for eight touchdowns last season, exceeding 1,000 rushing yards for the first time in his career. He is a bruising running back who carries sneaky acceleration and rushed for over 100 yards in six games in 2024.
Mafah, recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, did not participate in the NFL combine in late February, but he held a private individual workout at Clemson in front of teams on April 8. His workout results were not publicly announced.
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Phil Mafah highlights, strengths, weaknesses at Clemson football
Mafah's best game came against Notre Dame in 2023, rushing for 186 yards with two touchdowns on 36 carries. Against Louisville , he ran for 171 yards with two touchdowns on 30 attempts. He has recorded numerous plays of trucking or stiff-arming defenders into the ground in his last two seasons with Clemson.
Mafah is a bulldozer who patiently makes reads to follow blocks. He isn't an explosive runner and can struggle to get runs going if there isn't an open line. Another concern is his pass-catching ability; he has never surpassed 110 receiving yards in his four years at Clemson. He is also coming off shoulder surgery for a torn labrum, which limited him in his final games for Clemson.
Phil Mafah stats at Clemson football
Across 50 games (21 starts), Mafah recorded:
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2,887 yards rushing
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561 rushing attempts (5.1 yards per carry)
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28 rushing touchdowns
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58 receptions for 309 receiving yards
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Pros, cons of Dallas Cowboys picking Clemson's Phil Mafah in NFL Draft
