The 2020 All-Buckeye Team: How A Full NFL Roster of Ohio State Players Stacks Up After The Latest Draft

With 10 players from last year’s Ohio State roster selected in the 2020 NFL draft, and another five who are signing with teams as undrafted free agents, there are now 63 former Ohio State football players on rosters around the league.

Add in several other Buckeyes who are currently unsigned but who spent time on NFL rosters last season, and there’s more than 70 Ohio State products who could potentially play in the league in 2020.

So when building a hypothetical NFL roster composed entirely of players who completed their collegiate careers at Ohio State, the most difficult part is figuring out who doesn’t make the team.

With NFL starters at just about every position – and at some positions, a multitude of them – the All-Buckeye Team is one that has the potential to be as good as any team in the league. Ignoring the salary cap restrictions that might make actually building this team impossible, there’s enough Buckeyes in the league to put together a full 53-man roster and even a full 12-man practice squad.

For our second annual All-Buckeye team (2019), I’ve forced myself to actually make the tough decisions, making cuts at positions where Ohio State has a surplus of players in the league to create a 53-man roster. To be eligible for the roster, a player had to play his final season of college football at Ohio State – therefore, No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow is not included – and must either currently be on an NFL roster or been on an NFL roster last season.

That roster, with analysis on how the depth chart might stack up at each position, is below.

QB: Dwayne Haskins, J.T. Barrett

Haskins, now with an NFL season including seven starts for the Washington Redskins under his belt, returns as the starting quarterback for the All-Buckeye Team. While he still has a lot to prove entering his second year in the league, Haskins showed promise down the stretch in 2019 and has the tools to develop into a top NFL quarterback if he can continue to make strides in his sophomore campaign.

Depth behind Haskins is a concern for the All-Buckeye team, as Barrett is the only other former Ohio State quarterback currently on an NFL roster, and he’s never played in a regular-season game. Cardale Jones, fresh off his stint with the XFL’s D.C. Defenders, could be added to the roster to bolster depth, but he has yet to land with an NFL team since the XFL ceased operations.

RB: Ezekiel Elliott, J.K. Dobbins, Carlos Hyde

Ohio State’s two best running backs of the past decade give the 2020 All-Buckeye team an elite 1-2 punch at the position, as Dobbins enters the league as a likely future starter for the Baltimore Ravens while Elliott is already one of the NFL’s best running backs – if not the best – for the Dallas Cowboys. While Elliott currently gets the vast majority of carries in the Cowboys’ backfield, he’d certainly have competition for carries from Dobbins on this roster.

Hyde, who currently remains unsigned as a free agent but ran for 1,070 yards with the Houston Texans last season, provides strong depth as the third-string running back. Mike Weber, who will be competing for a roster spot this year with the Kansas City Chiefs after finishing last season on the practice squad, would also be a viable option, but Hyde gets the nod because of his proven production in the league.

WR: Michael Thomas, Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, Parris Campbell, K.J. Hill, Ted Ginn Jr.

Fresh off breaking the NFL record for most receptions in a single season, Thomas is arguably the best wide receiver in the entire league, and there’s plenty of other talent to fill out the rest of the All-Buckeye team’s receiving corps as well.

McLaurin, one of Haskins’ actual targets in Washington, moves into the starting lineup opposite Thomas after a fantastic rookie season in which he caught 58 passes for 919 yards and seven touchdowns. Samuel, who had his best NFL season yet in 2019 with 54 catches for 627 yards and six touchdowns, adds another dynamic weapon to the lineup as the No. 3 receiver.

Campbell was plagued by injuries in his NFL rookie season, but adds elite speed and a potential breakout playmaker to this receiving corps. Hill, despite his draft fall to the seventh round, adds another skilled receiver who could contribute immediately in the slot. Ginn’s best years might be behind him, but the 35-year-old is not planning to retire (though he is currently unsigned) and has maintained solid production, catching 30 passes for 421 yards and two touchdowns for the New Orleans Saints in 2019.

Ohio State has enough current NFL receivers to fill out two rosters, but there simply isn’t enough roster space for Devin Smith, Noah Brown, Johnnie Dixon, Austin Mack or Binjimen Victor in this exercise.

Dwayne Haskins, Sam Hubbard, Terry McLaurin, Billy Price and Michael Jordan are all teammates again on the All-Buckeye Team. Geoff Burke – USA TODAY Sports

TE: Nick Vannett, Jeff Heuerman, Rashod Berry

Vannett and Heuerman, who are now real-life teammates once again with the Denver Broncos, return to lead the All-Buckeye team at tight end. Neither of them have had substantial receiving production as NFL tight ends, but they’re the only tight ends currently in the league who have played in regular-season games, and much like at Ohio State, they’ll primarily be blockers in the All-Buckeye offense with all the talent at wide receiver.

Berry, who signed with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent, would compete with Marcus Baugh to be the third tight end on the All-Buckeye team. Given that Baugh has yet to stick on an NFL roster in his first two years out of Ohio State, Berry’s potential to make an impact in the league might be higher at this point.

OT: Taylor Decker, Jamarco Jones, Isaiah Prince, Branden Bowen

Decker, entering his fifth season with the Detroit Lions, gives the All-Buckeye team a proven starter to protect Haskins’ blind side at left tackle. Jones, who played mostly at guard for the Seattle Seahawks last season but was a two-year starting left tackle at Ohio State, would likely slot in as the starting right tackle for the All-Buckeye team.

Prince and Bowen, Ohio State’s last two starting right tackles, provide depth and competition at that spot, with Jones likely to shift over to left tackle if anything happens to Decker. The lack of proven NFL tackles outside of Decker would be a question mark for this team, but Bowen – who is joining the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent – adds another option.

G/C: Andrew Norwell, Corey Linsley, Jonah Jackson, Michael Jordan, Billy Price, Pat Elflein

Norwell and Linsley, who have both been consistently reliable starters since they entered the NFL in 2014, give the All-Buckeye team a strong pair of veterans to anchor their interior offensive line, with Linsley starting at center and Norwell starting at either left or right guard.

The other starting spot at guard could theoretically go to any of the other four interior offensive linemen on the roster. Jordan and Price both started games at left guard for the Bengals last season, but neither has solidified himself as a consistent starter in Cincinnati yet. Elflein hasn’t quite performed up to expectations in Minnesota, but he’s been a starter for each of his first three NFL seasons. Jackson, a third-round pick in this year’s draft, is expected to compete for an immediate starting job at guard with the Detroit Lions.

All four of them also have experience playing center, giving the All-Buckeye team’s interior offensive line no shortage of depth and possible lineup combination.

DE: Nick Bosa, Joey Bosa, Chase Young, Sam Hubbard, John Simon

Think about how spectacular the Bosa brothers and Young each were at Ohio State, and how great the Bosas have already been in the NFL – now imagine all three of them playing together. That trio would give the All-Buckeye team the league’s strongest defensive end rotation by a mile, causing nightmares for opposing offensive linemen with each of their ability to both rush the passer and stop the run.

Hubbard and Simon, both also NFL starters, would provide excellent depth behind the Bosas and Young on this roster.

DT: Cameron Heyward, Johnathan Hankins, Dre’Mont Jones, DaVon Hamilton, Tyquan Lewis, Jalyn Holmes

Heyward, coming off his second All-Pro season in three years, leads the interior defensive line for the All-Buckeye team. While he plays as a 5-technique defensive end in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 3-4 defense, he’d shift inside to play 3-technique defensive tackle in a 4-3 front, which best fits the skill sets of the Bosas and Young at defensive end.

Much like Larry Johnson’s units at Ohio State, this group would be able to deploy a deep rotation at both defensive tackle spots, with Jones and Lewis backing up Heyward at 3-technique and Hankins and Hamilton leading the rotation at nose tackle. Paired with the superstar defensive ends outside, this defensive tackle roster would also be one of the strongest in the league, giving the All-Buckeye team an elite defensive line that would set the tone for its entire defense.

Nick Bosa and Jalyn Holmes reunite on a loaded All-Buckeye Team defensive line. Kirby Lee – USA TODAY Sports

LB: Jerome Baker, Raekwon McMillan, Malik Harrison, Darron Lee

Harrison, one of the newest members of the Baltimore Ravens as a third-round draft pick, likely joins real-life Miami Dolphins teammates Baker and McMillan as a starting linebacker for the 2020 All-Buckeye team, with McMillan in the middle and Baker and Harrison manning the outside spot.

Lee is currently an unsigned free agent after playing only sparingly for the Chiefs last season, but he’s the only other former Ohio State linebacker who was on an NFL regular-season roster last year, and he still has the potential to be an impact player in the league with a fresh start.

Given how loaded the All-Buckeye defensive line is, moving Simon back to the second level could be an option to bolster linebacker depth. Baker, McMillan, Harrison and Lee are a strong-enough quartet, though, for the All-Buckeye defense to be elite with its defensive line and secondary.

CB: Marshon Lattimore, Denzel Ward, Jeff Okudah, Bradley Roby, Gareon Conley, Damon Arnette

The “Best in America” moniker for Ohio State’s secondary certainly applies to the All-Buckeye team’s cornerbacks, all six of whom were first-round picks and could be NFL starters in 2020.

Lattimore and Ward have both already been Pro Bowlers in their young NFL careers, but No. 3 overall pick Okudah could push them for an immediate starting spot and would project as one of the All-Buckeye team’s top three cornerbacks – which is saying something considering that Roby and Conley both started last year for the Houston Texans, a playoff team. Arnette will likely be a rookie starter for the Las Vegas Raiders, but he’d have to compete just to be the fourth or fifth cornerback on this depth chart.

Ohio State’s cornerback contingent in the NFL is now so deep that there isn’t even room on the All-Buckeye roster for Eli Apple, another first-round pick who was a starter last season but is currently an unsigned free agent, and Kendall Sheffield, who started 11 games for the Falcons as a rookie after being selected in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL draft.

S: Malcolm Jenkins, Vonn Bell, Malik Hooker, Jordan Fuller, Nate Ebner

The All-Buckeye secondary pairs its stacked roster of cornerbacks with an excellent roster of safeties led by three NFL starters. With Jenkins, Bell and Hooker all in the mix, this defense would likely feature a healthy dose of three-safety packages.

Jenkins gives the All-Buckeye team a field general on the back end, just as he has been for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Saints, while Hooker adds rare playmaking range and Bell is a difference-maker at strong safety. Regardless of which two safeties start, all three would play regularly.

Ebner makes the All-Buckeye roster as a core special teams player, while Fuller would also be a leading candidate to contribute in that phase of the game while serving as a backup safety.

K: Mike Nugent

Nugent’s NFL career is probably over after he made just five of eight field goal attempts during a brief stint with the New England Patriots last season – the 38-year-old hasn’t kicked in more than four games with one team since 2016 – but for now, he’s the only eligible option at this position.

Blake Haubeil could be a candidate to take his place on the 2021 All-Buckeye team if he has a strong senior season at Ohio State.

P: Cameron Johnston

Johnston continued to be one of the NFL’s best punters in his second season with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2019, ranking eighth in the NFL in net yards per punt (42.3) and ninth in average yards per punt (46.4). His ability to flip the field, combined with all the talent on defense, would give the All-Buckeye team great potential to control the field-position battle.

LS: Jake McQuaide

Ohio State now has a second long snapper in the league, as Liam McCullough signed with the Raiders as an undrafted free agent, but he has to actually make a regular-season roster and establish himself in the NFL before he can make a serious run at McQuaide’s spot on the All-Buckeye team. McQuaide, a two-time Pro Bowler, is still considered to be one of the league’s best long snappers as he enters his 10th season with the Los Angeles Rams.

Practice Squad: CB Eli Apple, CB Kendall Sheffield, RB Mike Weber, WR Devin Smith, WR Johnnie Dixon, WR Austin Mack, WR Binjimen Victor, TE Marcus Baugh, OG Demetrius Knox, OG Malcolm Pridgeon, DT Jashon Cornell, S Tyvis Powell

Apple and Sheffield are well above practice squad-level players in the NFL, but because of the depth at cornerback among former Ohio State players, they’re relegated to practice-squad duty for the All-Buckeye team. Smith was on the Cowboys' roster all of last season, but he also ends up on the practice squad because of the depth at his position on this roster.

Weber, Dixon, Pridgeon and Powell all spent time on NFL practice squads last season, while Mack, Victor, Baugh, Knox and Cornell are all first-, second- or third-year NFL players who will be vying for roster spots as backups this offseason – the type of players who typically populate practice squads around the league.