The case for taking Clemson’s Mackensie Alexander in the first round of the upcoming NFL draft won’t be made on gaudy statistics. In two seasons as a starter for the Tigers, Alexander didn’t have a single interception. And his stature, at 5 feet 10 and 190 pounds, hardly suggests a prototypical NFL defensive back.

What has catapulted Alexander into first-round conversations are intangibles: fiery competitiveness, dogged work ethic, an instinct for the ball and an athletic arrogance that enables him to play bigger than he is.

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“There’s nobody more dedicated than me, who has put more time and who’s more of a competitor than me,” Alexander declared at February’s NFL combine. “I’m here prepared, and I’m telling you I’m the best corner in this draft class.”

Most NFL scouts have Florida’s Vernon Hargreaves in that spot. Scouts who regard Florida State safety Jalen Ramsey as a cornerback in the pros deem Ramsey best of the bunch.

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But Alexander is widely expected to be taken in the first round on the merits of a two-year body of work at Clemson that must be judged on what he didn’t allow to happen on his side of the field.

Namely, he allowed just one touchdown — a fluky occurrence when he slipped in the third game of his redshirt freshman year and surrendered a 74-yard score in an overtime loss to Florida State. No Tiger played more defensive snaps than Alexander did that season.

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Last October, he all but silenced Notre Dame’s star wide receiver, Will Fuller, holding him to two catches for 37 yards and zero touchdowns in Clemson’s 24-22 early-season upset of the Irish. Alexander noted that success in making his case as a shutdown corner at the combine, telling reporters of Fuller: “If I take his vertical game away, I wouldn’t say he sucks, but he’s not that good.”

Clemson went 24-4 during his two seasons, won the 2015 ACC title, twice defeated Oklahoma in bowl games and reached the national championship game, though Alexander missed the second half of the 45-40 loss to Alabama after aggravating a hamstring injury. So there is little question about his big-game readiness. And he’s young, not turning 23 until Nov. 12.

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To skeptics who point out that he didn’t register a single interception at Clemson, Alexander counters that it’s simply more evidence of the impact he has on quarterbacks.

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“A lot of quarterbacks and teams stayed away from me,” Alexander noted. “That was their game plan.”

NFL.com draft analyst Charles Davis isn’t troubled by the lack of interceptions in college, explaining that his regard for Alexander has grown over time. “He’s very consistent in coverage, and he plays with passion,” Davis said in a conference call with reporters. “I like what he brings to the table. He’s highly competitive.”

Some draft analysts go further, characterizing him as the top cover corner in the draft.

Alexander was hot prospect coming out of Florida’s Immokalee High, a small school in a hard-scrabble agricultural community made up primarily of migrant workers. He and his twin brother often helped their father, a Haitian immigrant, labor in the fields. And he came to view football as a way out, poring over the playbook and logging long hours in the film room, before and after games.

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“I take it upon myself to learn more, because I’m super competitive and I want to be the best,” Alexander explained. “Not just at the game day — every day at practice, no matter what I’m doing. It pushes me to be better.”

John Harris’s top 10 safety prospects:

Rank Player School Height Weight Top 100 ranking 1 Vernon Hargreaves III Florida 5 feet 10 204 lbs. 9 2 Eli Apple Ohio State 6-1 199 24 3 Mackensie Alexander Clemson 5-10 190 13 4 Will Jackson III Houston 6-0 189 34 5 Kendall Fuller Virginia Tech 5-11 187 48 6 Artie Burns Miami 6-0 193 64 7 Maurice Canady Virginia 6-1 193 81 8 Cyrus Jones Alabama 5-10 197 83 9 Harlan Miller Southeastern Louisiana 6-0 182 86 10 Jonathan Jones Auburn 5-9 186 87

Liz Clarke covers the Redskins for The Post. John Harris analyzes the draft for the Houston Texans and contributes to our NFL coverage.