With the 2021 draft behind us, it's time to look ahead to 2022.
Ohio State saw 10 players selected in the NFL Draft for the second-straight season, and it's looking like next year's draft will be Buckeye heavy, too.
In the aftermath of this year's draft, prognosticators are already hard at work on next year's projections, with a flood of way-too-early 2022 Mock Drafts already hitting the Internet this week.
Justin Fields was the only Buckeye selected in the first round this year, but that's expected to change next year with Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Zach Harrison, Sevyn Banks, Thayer Munford, Tyreke Smith and Haskell Garrett all appearing in the first round of at least one of the major way-too-early mocks.
Here's a roundup of where things stand.
The Athletic
- Garrett Wilson: 16. Tennessee Titans
- Zach Harrison: 25. Green Bay Packers
- Chris Olave: 30. Detroit Lions
Throughout every way-too-early mock draft, the three most common players appearing on the projections are Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson and Zach Harrison, and The Athletic's mock draft includes exactly those three players – no more, no less.
Dane Brugler of The Athletic has Wilson as the first Buckeye off the board, going No. 16 to the Tennessee Titans. He projects two other Buckeyes waiting until more towards the end of the first round to hear their names with Harrison going No. 25 overall to the Green Bay Packers and Olave to the Lions.
Brugler has Wilson as the first wide receiver off the board and Olave as the third with Harrison as the third edge prospect to be selected.
Sports Illustrated
- Tyreke Smith: 10. Las Vegas Raiders
- Chris Olave: 11. Washington Football Team
- Garrett Wilson: 15. Los Angeles Chargers
Sports Illustrated is the only outlet to have Tyreke Smith in the first round of their way-too-early mock draft, and they're especially high on him, projecting him as the first Buckeye taken in the draft with pick No. 10.
SI also has both members of Ohio State's dynamic receiving duo going in the first half of the first round with Chris Olave at No. 11 and Garrett Wilson at No. 15, but those are all the Ohio State players in their projection.
Zach Harrison is a notably absence from this list as SI is the only outlet not to include Harrison in their early first-round projections.
SI has Smith as the second defensive end off the board and projects Olave and Wilson as the first and second receivers taken, respectively.
Yahoo! Sports
- Chris Olave: 5. Jacksonville Jaguars
- Sevyn Banks: 17. Los Angeles Chargers
- Thayer Munford: 21. Indianapolis Colts
- Zach Harrison: 23. New York Jets (from Seattle Seahawks)
Yahoo! Sports' way-too-early 2022 Mock Draft is quite Buckeye friendly, projecting four first rounders, all within the first 23 picks of the draft including a top-five pick.
Olave leads the way on this list, projected as the No. 5 pick to Urban Meyer's Jacksonville Jaguards – by far his highest projection of any mock draft – followed by Sevyn Banks at No. 17, Thayer Munford at No. 21, and Zach Harrison at No. 23.
Yahoo! has Olave as the first wide receiver taken, Banks as the third cornerback off the board, Munford as the fourth offensive lineman and Harrison as the fourth defensive end.
The Draft Network
- Sevyn Banks: 13. Los Angeles Chargers
- Chris Olave: 19. New Orleans Saints
- Garrett Wilson: 21. New England Patriots
- Zach Harrison: 25. Cleveland Browns
The Draft Network has four Buckeyes in their mock draft, and no outlet is higher on Sevyn Banks. They have him projected as the No. 13 overall pick to the Los Angeles Chargers, the third cornerback off the boad.
Three other Ohio State players crack this list with Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson projected at No. 19 and No. 21 respectively to the New Olreans Saints and the New England Patriots while Zach Harrison is projected as the No. 25 pick to the Cleveland Browns.
On this list, Olave and Wilson are the third and fourth receivers off the board and Harrison is the fourth defensive end/EDGE.
Sporting News
- Chris Olave: 14. New England Patriots
- Garrett Wilson: 16. New Orleans Saints
- Sevyn Banks: 22. Minnesota Vikings
- Zach Harrison: 24. Dallas Cowboys
Sporting News also has a similar four Buckeyes in their 2022 mock draft as a few other outlets, but the order is shuffled a bit.
Chris Olave leads tops the group as the projected No. 14 overall pick to the New England Patriots with Garrett Wilson following short behind at No. 16 to the New Orleans Saints. The pair are projected as the top-two receivers in the draft.
Sevyn Banks and Zach Harrison also make Sporting News' list with Banks projected as the No. 3 cornerback selected and Harrison the third EDGE prospect.
Pro Football Network
- Zach Harrison: 14. Minnesota Vikings
- Garrett Wilson: 15. Arizona Cardinals
- Sevyn Banks: 17. Los Angeles Chargers
- Chris Olave: 18. New England Patriots
Again, Pro Football Network gives us a familiar four players projected in the first round of its mock draft, but the order is unique.
On this list, Zach Harrison leads the way, projected as the No. 14 overall pick to the Minnesota Vikings. That kicks off a quick run of Buckeyes has Garrett Wilson is projected as the No. 15 overall pick to the Arizona Cardinals, followed by Sevyn Banks and Chris Olave at No. 17 and 18, to the Los Angeles Chargers and New England Patriots.
Harrison is projected as the second EDGE prospect taken, Wilson and Olave are projected as the top-two receivers, and Banks is the No. 4 cornberback.
Bleacher Report
- Chris Olave: 13. Arizona Cardinals
- Garrett Wilson: 17. Tennessee Titans
- Zach Harrison: 22. New York Jets (from Seattle)
- Haskell Garrett: 31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Bleacher Report's mock draft features four Buckeyes, but not the same four as most other outlets with Haskell Garrett cracking the first round instead of Sevyn Banks.
Chris Olave leads the way in this projection as the second wide receiver taken with the No. 13 overall pick to the Arizona Cardinals while Garrett Wilson follows shortly behind as the third receiver off the board with the No. 17 pick to the Tennessee Titans.
Zach Harrison is also projected in the first round, projected as the fifth EDGE prospect off the board with the No. 22 overall pick to the New York Jets. Garrett is projected as the second defensive tackle selected, mocked as the No. 31 pick to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Fox Sports
- Garrett Wilson: 4. New York Jets
- Zach Harrison: 6. New York Giants
- Thayer Munford: 18. Pittsburgh Steelers
- Sevyn Banks: 24. New York Jets (via Seattle Seahawks)
Fox Sports' mock draft by RJ Young is the most Buckeye-friendly of the bunch with four players projected as first-round picks with all four projected among the top 24 and two among the top 10.
In this mock draft, Garrett Wilson and Zach Harrison receive their highest draft projections of any outlet by far, with Garrett Wilson projected as the No. 4 overall pick by the New York Jets – the top receiver off the board – and Zack Harrison as the No. 6 overall pick as the second defensive end selected.
This mock is one of just two to include Thayer Munford, and it views him quite favorably, projecting him as the second offensive linemen taken in the first round with the No. 18 overall pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Sevyn Banks is the final Buckeye mocked in the first round, projected as the No. 3 cornerback off the board with the No. 24 overall pick to the New York Jets.
One notable exclusion from this list is Chris Olave. This is the only major outlet to exclude him from their first-round projections.
