His path to the NFL was not at all what he expected five years ago as a top 20 high school recruit, but the 6-foot-3, 312-pound offensive lineman doesn’t want to be known for his past.
Clay Webb knows something about redemption.
A 2024 first-team All-Conference USA selection, Webb started all 14 games at left guard for Jacksonville State. He was a second-team all-conference selection the previous season.
The 6-foot-3, 312-pound offensive lineman had planned for a much grander college experience. Recruited heavily by both The Alabama Crimson Tide and the University of Georgia Dawgs in 2018, Webb assumed he’d be punching his ticket to the SEC.
NFL Draft Countdown Day 4
Clay Webb iOL
9.36 RAS
3 straights years of an 80 or higher PFF grade
82.7 Run Block
72.7 Pass BlockFormer 5 Star recruit that has dominated at Jax State, physical player with athletic upside
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— Logan Fulmer (@Fvlmer) March 27, 2025
But then a high school locker room prank in October became a federal lawsuit a year later that derailed the five-star recruit’s dreams of playing in the SEC — and nearly the NFL.
Projected as a mid- to late-rount talent for the NFL Draft, Webb went undrafted.
But the Broncos saw something in the offensive lineman that they didn’t want to pass up.
“He’s been cleared. This kid’s a great kid,” Broncos head coach Sean Payton said during the Rookie Minicamp. “Obviously made a mistake, and he was fantastic just in discussing it with us and going through it with us.”
That “mistake” was allowing a fellow athlete at Oxford High to unknowingly drink a Powerade™ bottle full of his semen. Alabama Circuit Court Judge Timothy C. Burgess on April 2 dismissed the claims against Webb, but that didn’t help 32 NFL GMs decide to draft him.
According to 9NEWS’ Mike Klis, the judge agreed the situation did not show intent of harm by Webb, only negligence.
For Payton and the Broncos, Webb has paid his price and earned a chance to be redeemed.
“We spent a ton of time with him. He’s the best,” Payton said. “We feel really good about where he’s at.”
Webb told The Denver Post he just wishes “everyone respect” moving forward.
“I hope that one thing,” he added, “isn’t what people judge me by.”