Todd McShay reveals where Khalil Barnes stands as NFL prospect entering 2025 season

The Clemson Tigers are going into the 2025 season loaded on the defensive side of the ball. Unsurprisingly, that’s given analyst Todd McShay plenty of potential NFL Draft prospects to look at going into this year.

One prospect who he dove into on The McShay Show was defensive back Khalil Barnes. A safety, Barnes has proven that he’s very capable of playing along the line of scrimmage and with physicality. He just needs to work on some of his back-end coverage.

“Six foot, 195 [lbs],” Todd McShay said. “Wears the number seven jersey. 61 tackles last year. He was fifth on the team. Four interceptions. I think he’s best kind of closer to the line of scrimmage in that nickel role. Instinctive. Tough versus the run. Good feel for like fighting off blocks, staying involved, staying active. Good angles. I thought he did a nice job with leverage. Plays with balance. Stays on his feet. All those kinds of things.”

Khalil Barnes came to Clemson in the Class of 2023 as a four-star recruit. He was the 385th-ranked prospect overall and the 36th-ranked safety in that recruiting class. Since getting to Clemson, Barnes has consistently made his presence felt, including earning Freshman All-American honors.

“Had some big breakdowns in coverage,” McShay said. “I think this year, hopefully, some development. Not like egregious sh*t but it was like am I supposed to or are you supposed to. A couple where I want to see was that early in the season. Both of them were versus Georgia, I should say. Two big breakdowns against Georgia. Physical in coverage. Holds up in contesteds. But, to me, he’s a guy like the more space in certain one-on-ones, there’s some limitations.”

The 2025 season is the third in college for Khalil Barnes. That means he doesn’t have to move on from Clemson just yet. However, he has proven himself at the college level, and Todd McShay thinks he’s already someone who NFL teams would look at taking later in the NFL Draft.

“Again, a really damn good college safety. Need to see another level from him next year. I’m thinking more Day 3 on him right now. Have to contribute on special teams and work his way towards a role,” McShay said. “But he’s got a whole other season at Clemson with a really good front in front of him to continue to get better.”

Khalil Barnes has plenty of time to improve on that NFL Draft stock. Beyond the upcoming season, there is also the pre-draft process. Before then, however, Barnes is going to be focused on winning at Clemson. That starts on August 30th against LSU and a premier passing attack.