The idea that Ohio State’s 2021 NFL draft class doesn’t stand out by itself speaks to the level of talent this program has brought in – and continues to bring in.
A total of 10 former Buckeyes were taken across seven rounds. Justin Fields went first at No. 11 overall and Jonathon Cooper rounded it out by going off the board at No. 239 overall in the seventh round. Because only one Ohio State player was picked before 60th overall, which hadn’t happened since 2015, this crop lacked some of the star power – despite Fields – of some recent classes.
But in the grand scheme, the quantity of players picked was still more than normal.
It was only the fourth time since the draft moved to seven rounds in 1994 that the Buckeyes have reached double-digit selections. For reference, only on three occasions since then have any of the other 13 teams currently in the Big Ten produced double-digit picks in a single draft.
This also was the first time 10 or more players got drafted in two straight years for Ohio State in the past two and a half decades. In fact, as The Athletic’s Bill Landis first pointed out, Alabama (2017-19) and USC (2008-09) are the only two teams since 1994 that have produced double-figures draftees in back-to-back years. The Crimson Tide are the only program to have at least 10 players drafted in three straight years, and the Buckeyes are positioned to potentially tie them next year.
What would have to happen for Ohio State to go back-to-back-to-back? Is there a chance it can be the first in the seven-round era to produce four straight classes of double-digit draft picks?
It’s the offseason. Let’s get a little bit crazy.
2022 NFL Draft
Locks: Chris Olave, Thayer Munford, Jeremy Ruckert, Haskell Garrett
Locks if they leave: Garrett Wilson, Zach Harrison, Nicholas Petit-Frere, Tyreke Smith, Sevyn Banks, Josh Proctor
Likely draft picks if they leave: Taron Vincent, Cameron Brown, Harry Miller, Master Teague
Possibilities: Teradja Mitchell, Marcus Williamson, Tyler Friday, Antwuan Jackson, Jerron Cage, Dallas Gant, Matthew Jones
The way this team is set up with several guys who would’ve been high draft picks a year ago, Ohio State is set up well to reach 10 draft picks next year.
Olave, Munford, Ruckert and Garrett are all goners after the 2021 season, and all four are no-doubt-about-it draft picks. The only questions about that quartet is how many of them will become first-round selections.
Then, there’s a slew of others who would almost certainly get picked if they do leave – but their remaining eligibility means they’ll each have a chance to stay at Ohio State for an additional season if they prefer. Wilson, a projected first-round pick, is a safe bet to bounce, and so too is Harrison. Whether Petit-Frere, Smith, Banks or Proctor leave, though, is more of a question. None of them have put together first-round resumes up to this point, though all four have the type of talent that could propel them to get picked in the upper half of next year’s draft. As Olave and Munford showed, though, some guys who seem like sure things to leave early end up staying in college for an extra year for whatever reason.
Vincent, Brown, Miller and Teague have enough talent that one would imagine they’d get picked in the draft if they leave. Yet they each could have decent reasons to think about staying in school after the 2021 season. Vincent and Brown will have only played one full season after coming off of injuries, Miller currently isn’t close to his ceiling and Teague might not be the feature tailback this fall.
Williamson and Jackson will be out of eligibility following this upcoming season, but they’ll have to play their way into the NFL draft picture. Several others – Friday, Mitchell, Cage, Gant and Jones – would appear likely to need more than one more year of seasoning before turning pro.
Essentially it comes down to this: If Olave, Munford, Ruckert and Garrett are all set to both leave Ohio State and get drafted, then do you believe six others from the group of Wilson, Harrison, Petit-Frere, Smith, Banks, Proctor, Vincent, Brown, Miller, Teague, Mitchell, Williamson, Friday, Jackson, Cage, Gant and Jones get taken in next year’s draft?
Clearly, it’s far too early to answer said question with any degree of certainty. But the talent and number of options certainly gives Ohio State a prime opportunity to tie Alabama as the only other program to produce double-digit NFL draft picks in three straight years.
We’ll have our answer on April 30, 2022.
2023 NFL Draft
No, we’re not doing a full breakdown of a draft class two years from now. Don’t worry. Come back in a year and we’ll finally begin to hit on it.
But…
If at least 10 former Buckeyes get picked in 2022, then Ohio State would be facing an opportunity to be the first school to turn out double-digit selections in the era of the seven-round draft format.
The fact nearly two years have to pass before it actually would happen means it’s not worth much of a conversation. But the fact this roster is so talent-rich makes it a realistic possibility.
Among those who would become draft-eligible in 2023? C.J. Stroud, Paris Johnson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Julian Fleming. Stroud, if he wins the starting job, would almost certainly be on the three-and-done path. Johnson talked to Eleven Warriors about his three-year plan before even enrolling. Smith-Njigba, by this point, will have been a two-year starter and Fleming most likely will have just wrapped up his first full season as a starter.
With those four candidates and the guys who’ll be coming back for the 2022 season, it’s not hard to imagine Ohio State putting 10 more into the NFL draft for the fourth straight year.
See y’all in 730 or so days and we can find out together if it happens.
