Najee Clayton

Senior linebacker for Western Michigan. 2019: 23 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack.

LB · Western Michigan · Sr. · #9

6′2″ · 235 lb · Paterson, NJ

Western Michigan 2019 alumnus

The story

4 linebacker for Western Michigan. 2019: 23 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack.

The record fills in as he plays.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Four seasons at Western Michigan, 63 tackles — his college career is complete.

Career arc

Recruit

—

No recruit profile

CFB

College

2 teams

2016–2019

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted

Coaching lineage · 2016–2019

2 coaches

2016

P.J. Fleck

Western Michigan

2017–2019

Tim Lester

Western Michigan

era →

Coaching transition mid-career: P.J. Fleck → Tim Lester. Worth noting in scheme + development context.

2019 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2016Rutgers2-10HC: Chris Ash · Run-leaning

2017Western Michigan6-6HC: Tim Lester · Run-heavy

2018Western Michigan7-6HC: Tim Lester · Run-leaning

2019Western Michigan7-6HC: Tim Lester · Run-leaning

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

7 metrics · season cumulative

Concern: solo tackles (24th percentile).

Box-score production (7)

Interceptions#134 / 779 · 72nd pct

Sacks#857 / 2688 · 61st pct

1.0

Passes defended#1097 / 2688 · 48th pct

Tackles for loss#1661 / 2688 · 35th pct

1.5

Tackles#1721 / 2688 · 35th pct

QB hurries#1337 / 2688 · 25th pct

Solo tackles#1985 / 2688 · 24th pct

Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2019 season · 9 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home5g	2.8	0.3	0.2	0.2
Road4g	2.2	0.0	0.0	0.0

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-76g	3.3	0.2	0.2	0.0
Weeks 8+3g	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.3

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Lance Taylor

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2019

Rotational

Earning real snaps in the rotation without a starting job.

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career stats

Season	Team
2019	Western Michigan	23	10	1.5	1.0	1	2	--
2018	Western Michigan	34	22	8.0	3.0	2	--	--
2017	Western Michigan	1	1	1.0	0.0	--	--	--
2016	Rutgers	5	3	0.0	0.0	1	--	--
Career		63	36	10.5	4.0	4	2	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2019

W 48–13

vs Monmouth

4 TOT · 3 SOLO

Dominant 35-point win at home against Monmouth.

With J. Wassink — 368 yds · 5 TD · 0 INT · QBR 98.5 · -14 rush yds (2 car) · K. Mixon Jr. — 1 rec · 5 yds

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2019 season · 9 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	SACK	INT	PD	Note
Wk 1	W 48-13vs Monmouth	4	3	0.0	0.0	—	0	Season-high 4 tackles
Wk 2	L 17-51@ Michigan State	4	1	0.0	0.0	1	0
Wk 3	W 57-10vs Georgia State	4	1	0.5	0.0	—	0
Wk 4	L 33-52@ Syracuse	3	1	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 6	L 24-31@ Toledo	1	0	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 7	W 38-16vs Miami (OH)	4	3	1.0	1.0	1	0
Wk 9	W 49-10vs Bowling Green	2	1	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 11	W 35-31vs Ball State	0	0	0.0	0.0	—	1
Wk 12	W 37-34@ Ohio	1	0	0.0	0.0	—	0
Total		23	10	1.5	1.0	2	1

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology