Christmas for NFL fans is inching ever closer — and if your team has a high draft pick, multiple Ohio State players could certainly be in the discussion.
A slew of Buckeyes showed out at the 2017 NFL Combine a little more than a week ago, which wrapped up on March 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Free agent frenzy began a week ago as well. The 2017 NFL Draft opens on April 27 in Philadelphia.
Marshon Lattimore, Gareon Conley, Raekwon McMillan, Curtis Samuel and even Pat Elflein and Cameron Johnston all ran well in the 40-yard dash at the Combine. Samuel's 4.31 was good enough for third-fastest among all players in Indianapolis. You can see how each player measured up, ran and jumped here.
Ohio State's Pro Day is scheduled for March 23 at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. With the Combine in the books, many draft analysts updated their mocks. We highlight those below. Here are versions one, two and three of the roundups.
Analysts we tallied: Bleacher Report's Matt Miller, Dane Brugler and Rob Rang of CBS Sports, Todd McShay and Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN, Daniel Jeremiah, Lance Zierlein, Bucky Brooks, Charley Casserly and Chad Reuter of NFL.com, Rotoworld's Josh Norris, Nate Davis of USA TODAY, Chris Burke of Sports Illustrated and Dieter Kurtenbach of FOX Sports. The number in parenthesis is where each analyst had the player in their previous mock unless they did not update it from last time.
Jeremiah also updated his top-50 players in the draft.
| Prospect | Rang | Brugler | MILLER | McShay | KIPER | JEREMIAH | ZIERLEIN | BROOKS | CASSERLy | REUTER | Norris | DAVIS | BURKE | KURTENBACH |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MALIK HOOKER, S | 7 (7) | 6 (12) | 7 (6) | 7 (7) | 7 (17) | 5 (7) | 12 (7) | 2 (7) | 7 (7) | 4 | 5 (5) | 3 (5) | 10 (7) | 7 (7) |
| MARSHON LATTIMORE, CB | 5 (6) | 3 (6) | 6 (5) | 6 (6) | 5 (6) | 6 (2) | 5 (5) | 5 (6) | 3 (3) | 6 | 2 (11) | 9 (8) | 16 (13) | 5 (16) |
| GAREON CONLEY, CB | NR (47*) | NR (NR) | 18 (24) | 29 (NR) | – | 10 (29*) | – | – | 24 (22) | 43 | 14 (NR) | – | 56 (NR) | 36 (36) |
| RAEKWON MCMILLAN, LB | NR (NR) | – | 46 (56) | – | – | – | – | – | – | 64 | NR (27) | – | 52 (NR) | 54 (27) |
| CURTIS SAMUEL, RB/WR | 46* (62*) | – | 75 (80) | – | – | 40* (39*) | – | – | – | 33 | – | – | 71 (NR) | 64 (64) |
| NOAH BROWN, WR | – | – | 108 (NR) | – | – | – | – | – | – | 106 | – | – | – | – |
| PAT ELFLEIN, C | 58 (NR) | – | 69 (86) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 47 (NR) | 70 (NR) |
*Number indicates player's rank on the analyst's big board, not mock draft
The 2017 NFL Draft order:
- 1. Cleveland Browns
- 2. San Francisco 49ers
- 3. Chicago Bears
- 4. Jacksonville Jaguars
- 5. Tennessee Titans (from Los Angeles Rams)
- 6. New York Jets
- 7. Los Angeles Chargers
- 8. Carolina Panthers
- 9. Cincinnati Bengals
- 10. Buffalo Bills
- 11. New Orleans Saints
- 12. Cleveland Browns (from Philadelphia Eagles)
- 13. Arizona Cardinals
- 14. Philadelphia Eagles (from Minnesota Vikings)
- 15. Indianapolis Colts
- 16. Baltimore Ravens
- 17. Washington Redskins
- 18. Tennessee Titans
- 19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- 20. Denver Broncos
- 21. Detroit Lions
- 22. Miami Dolphins
- 23. New York Giants
- 24. Oakland Raiders
- 25. Houston Texans
- 26. Seattle Seahawks
- 27. Kansas City Chiefs
- 28. Dallas Cowboys
- 29. Green Bay Packers
- 30. Pittsburgh Steelers
- 31. Atlanta Falcons
- 32. New Orleans Saints (from New England Patriots)
The biggest riser in post-combine mocks is easily cornerback Gareon Conley. He ripped off an official 4.44-second 40-yard dash, a solid time in what is a very fast and deep defensive back class. Conley's experience and fluidity in drills during the Combine also helped his case.
Malik Hooker and Marshon Lattimore will almost certainly give Ohio State a pair of first round picks. Conley is flirting with making it three Buckeyes in the top 32 picks.
Lattimore pulled up lame in his second 40-yard dash attempt at the combine and later had to refute that he re-injured his hamstring. He instead said it was a hip flexor. In any event, it doesn't appear his draft stock too much of a hit. The same goes for Hooker, despite being unable to workout as he recovers from hip labrum and hernia surgeries.
Samuel saw a noticeable blip in his stock with his terrific 40 time but analysts are likely wary on his projection because he played both running back and wide receiver at Ohio State. How well Samuel fits in at the next level will result in what team drafts him.
College pro days are coming and going as March wears along, and more draft projections are likely to follow. The NFL Draft starts in 44 days.
