Ohio State’s 2022 NFL draft class is its smallest in seven years.
After a streak of six straight drafts in which Ohio State had at least seven players selected every year, the Buckeyes finished with only six draft selections this year. Despite being widely projected in mock drafts as a middle-to-late round pick, former Ohio State defensive tackle Haskell Garrett went undrafted, leaving Ohio State one selection short of extending its streak of drafts with seven-plus picks.
Still, there was plenty for Ohio State to celebrate over the three-day draft as six members of last year’s team were selected, headlined by No. 10 overall pick Garrett Wilson and No. 11 overall pick Chris Olave, making Ohio State one of just four schools to have multiple first-round picks this year along with Georgia (who had five) and Alabama and Michigan (who each also had two).
| Round | Pick | Player | Pos | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | GARRETT WILSON | WR | NEW YORK JETS |
| 1 | 11 | CHRIS OLAVE | WR | NEW ORLEANS SAINTS |
| 3 | 69 | NICHOLAS PETIT-FRERE | OT | TENNESSEE TITANS |
| 3 | 101 | JEREMY RUCKERT | TE | NEW YORK JETS |
| 5 | 158 | TYREKE SMITH | DE | SEATTLE SEAHAWKS |
| 7 | 238 | THAYER MUNFORD | OL | LAS VEGAS RAIDERS |
Making matters even more impressive for Ohio State’s wide receiver room, fellow former OSU wide receiver Jameson Williams was also selected just one pick after Wilson and Olave by the Detroit Lions with the No. 12 overall pick – though he doesn’t count toward Ohio State’s official tally of draft selections since he finished his college football career at Alabama.
Olave and Wilson’s selections marked the seventh time in nine years that Ohio State has had at least two first-round draft picks.
This year’s draft was the first time since 2011, when first-round pick Cam Heyward was the only Buckeye selected before the fourth round, that Ohio State did not have any players drafted in Round 2.
Nicholas Petit-Frere and Jeremy Ruckert were both selected in Round 3, though, to give the Buckeyes four total draft selections in the first three rounds. Ohio State tied Baylor and LSU for the most players selected in the first two days of the draft behind only Georgia (nine), Alabama (seven) and Cincinnati (five), all teams who made last season’s College Football Playoff.
Still, Ohio State’s total of four picks in the first four rounds was by far its fewest in the last seven years, as at least six Buckeyes were selected in the first four rounds of the draft every year between 2016-21.
Tyreke Smith’s selection in Round 5 ensured that Ohio State would continue its streak of having at least five players selected to nine years – the last time fewer than five Buckeyes were selected was 2013, when only three Ohio State players were drafted – and Thayer Munford’s seventh-round selection brought the Buckeyes’ total to six draft picks, tying Baylor, Ole Miss and UCLA for the seventh-most among all schools.
With Munford’s selection, Ohio State surpassed the five draft picks it had in 2015, the last time Ohio State had fewer than seven draft choices.
| Year | Picks | Players |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 5 | WR DEVIN SMITH (2nd), TE JEFF HEUERMAN (3rd), CB DORAN GRANT (4th), DT MICHAEL BENNETT (6th), WR EVAN SPENCER (6th) |
| 2016 | 12 | DE JOEY BOSA (1st), RB EZEKIEL ELLIOTT (1st), CB ELI APPLE (1st), OT TAYLOR DECKER (1st), LB DARRON LEE (1st), WR MICHAEL THOMAS (2nd), S VONN BELL (2nd), DT ADOLPHUS WASHINGTON (3rd), WR BRAXTON MILLER (3rd), TE NICK VANNETT (3rd), LB JOSHUA PERRY (4th), QB CARDALE JONES (4th) |
| 2017 | 7 | CB MARSHON LATTIMORE (1st), S MALIK HOOKER (1st), CB GAREON CONLEY (1st), WR CURTIS SAMUEL (2nd), LB RAEKWON MCMILLAN (2nd), C PAT ELFLEIN (3rd), WR NOAH BROWN (7th) |
| 2018 | 7 | CB DENZEL WARD (1st), C BILLY PRICE (1st), DE TYQUAN LEWIS (2nd), LB JEROME BAKER (3rd), DE SAM HUBBARD (3rd), DE JALYN HOLMES (4th), OL JAMARCO JONES (5th) |
| 2019 | 9 | DE NICK BOSA (1st), QB DWAYNE HASKINS (1st), WR PARRIS CAMPBELL (2nd), DT DRE'MONT JONES (3rd), WR TERRY MCLAURIN (3rd), CB KENDALL SHEFFIELD (4th), G MICHAEL JORDAN (4th), OT ISAIAH PRINCE (6th), RB MIKE WEBER (7th) |
| 2020 | 10 | DE CHASE YOUNG (1st), CB JEFF OKUDAH (1st), CB DAMON ARNETTE (1st), RB J.K. DOBBINS (2nd), DT DAVON HAMILTON (3rd), G JONAH JACKSON (3rd), LB MALIK HARRISON (3rd), S JORDAN FULLER (6th), WR K.J. HILL (7th), DT JASHON CORNELL (7th) |
| 2021 | 10 | QB JUSTIN FIELDS (1st), LB PETE WERNER (2nd), C JOSH MYERS (2nd), G WYATT DAVIS (3rd), RB TREY SERMON (3rd), LB BARON BROWNING (4th), DT TOMMY TOGIAI (4th), TE LUKE FARRELL (5th), CB SHAUN WADE (5th), DE JONATHON COOPER (7th) |
| 2022 | 6 | WR GARRETT WILSON (1st), WR CHRIS OLAVE (1st), OT NICHOLAS PETIT-FRERE (3rd), TE JEREMY RUCKERT (3rd), DE TYREKE SMITH (5th), OL THAYER MUNFORD (7th) |
Georgia led all schools with a whopping 15 selections in the 2022 NFL draft, breaking the seven-round draft record of 14 total picks previously set by Ohio State in 2004 and tied by LSU in 2020. LSU ranked second with 10 selections, Cincinnati came in third with a school-record nine selections, Penn State finished fourth with eight draft choices and Alabama and Oklahoma tied for fifth with seven total selections.
Five of Ohio State’s six 2022 NFL draft selections came from the offensive side of the ball, while Smith was the only player drafted from last year’s Ohio State defense. The 157 picks before him were the most before a defender from Ohio State has been drafted since 2012, when Nate Ebner – who played far more on special teams than he ever did on defense at Ohio State – was the Buckeyes’ only non-offensive player drafted when the New England Patriots selected him with the 197th overall pick in the sixth round.
Garrett agreed to a free-agent deal shortly after the draft with the Tennessee Titans, while running back Master Teague is signing with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent. Former walk-on wide receiver and special teamer Chris Booker has been invited to participate in the Arizona Cardinals’ rookie minicamp, while former Ohio State defensive tackle Antwuan Jackson has accepted an invitation to the New York Giants’ rookie minicamp, though they have not yet signed contract with those teams.
Former Ohio State cornerback/wide receiver Demario McCall indicated in a Sunday afternoon tweet that he had also landed an NFL opportunity with the Bears, though it was not immediately clear whether he had a signed contract or accepted a minicamp invitation.
