As someone who has watched Clemson, pretty much, all my life, They lost some incredible players on that D line. But some of the backups had decent playing time. That D was just as big a key to last year as Travis Etienne and Trevor Lawrence. They lost some serious big timers. Tre Lamar and Kendall Joseph at linebacker, Trayvon Mullen at corner, Austin Bryant and Clelin Ferrell at DE and of course Lawrence and Wilkins at DT. Wilkins was such an x factor for that team (as well as a all around great guy). 3 of those guys were first rounders.
And they lost some incredible reserves - Huggins, JD Davis and Judah Davis, and Mark Fields. Then Shaq Smith transfered to Maryland.
That is a lot of talent to replace. Granted they have some other good guys stepping up like Skalski,Kvon Wallace, Tanner Muse, Simmons and Terrell.
So the big question for Clemson is - given how incredible those starters were, does it mean the reserves are still at a level that is higher than most. Many of the sports media guys in the Upstate seem to think so.
I think the ACC will be stronger across the board this year. Scuse won't be overlooked this year. NC State is likely stepping up and BC is gonna be a serious pain in the neck for folks. Duke should be decent, but they open with a ticked off Bama.