The 2022 NFL draft is just over two weeks away.
From April 28-30, 262 players will be drafted by the NFL’s 32 teams, and at least seven members of last year’s Ohio State football team are expected to hear their names called: wide receivers Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, tight end Jeremy Ruckert, offensive linemen Nicholas Petit-Frere and Thayer Munford and defensive linemen Haskell Garrett and Tyreke Smith.
With just two weeks to go until the NFL draft, just about everyone agrees that all seven of those Buckeyes will be chosen, but where each of them will end up in terms of which teams draft them and when they come off the board remains a mystery. Everyone expects Wilson and Olave to be first-round picks, but the projections for each of the Buckeyes’ other likely draft selections are much more varied, ranging from as high as the second round to Petit-Frere and Ruckert to as low as the seventh round for Smith.
As there have been many mock drafts released in recent days as the NFL draft comes closer, we’ve rounded up a bunch of predictions from around the Internet – ranging from one-round mocks to seven-round mocks – of where each of those seven Buckeyes will end up.
The following 16 mock drafts, all of which were published within the last two weeks, were referenced in this edition of the 2022 NFL Mock Draft Roundup:
- Bleacher Report Scouting Department (4 rounds)
- CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson (3 rounds)
- Draft Countdown’s Brian Bosarge (7 rounds)
- Draft Tek (7 rounds)
- Draft Wire’s Luke Easterling (3 rounds)
- ESPN’s Jordan Reid (7 rounds)
- ESPN’s Todd McShay (2 rounds)
- NFL.com’s Chad Reuter (4 rounds)
- NFL.com’s Peter Schrager (1 round)
- Pro Football Focus’ Anthony Treash (2 rounds)
- Pro Football Network’s Ian Cummings (7 rounds)
- Sporting News’ Vinnie Iyer (7 rounds)
- Tankathon (3 rounds)
- The Draft Network’s Keith Sanchez (1 round)
- Touchdown Wire’s Mark Schofield (3 rounds)
- U-T San Diego’s Eddie Brown (3 rounds)
(Note: While four other members of last year’s Ohio State football team – running back Master Teague, defensive tackle Antwuan Jackson, wide receiver/cornerback Demario McCall and wide receiver Chris Booker – are also hoping to be drafted, none of them were included in any of the mock drafts we found.)
WR Garrett Wilson
Draft Tek: Round 1, No. 4 overall, New York Jets
McShay: Round 1, No. 4 overall, New York Jets
Wilson: Round 1, No. 8 overall, Atlanta Falcons
Reid: Round 1, No. 10 overall, New York Jets
Bosarge: Round 1, No. 11 overall, Washington Commanders
Brown: Round 1, No. 11 overall, Washington Commanders
Cummings: Round 1, No. 11 overall, Washington Commanders
Reuter: Round 1, No. 11 overall, Washington Commanders
Sanchez: Round 1, No. 11 overall, Washington Commanders
Treash: Round 1, No. 11 overall, Washington Commanders
Tankathon: Round 1, No. 13 overall, Houston Texans
Easterling: Round 1, No. 16 overall, New Orleans Saints
Iyer: Round 1, No. 16 overall, New Orleans Saints
Schofield: Round 1, No. 16 overall, New Orleans Saints
Schrager: Round 1, No. 16 overall, New Orleans Saints
Bleacher Report: Round 1, No. 18 overall, New Orleans Saints
Wilson looks like a sure bet to be a top-20 pick, as all of the mock drafts we found have Wilson coming off the board within the first 18 selections. Wilson could potentially come off the board as early as the No. 4 overall pick – which would break Terry Glenn’s record (No. 7 overall in 1996) for the highest-ever selection for an Ohio State wide receiver – as the New York Jets have two top-10 picks (No. 4 and No. 10) and are widely expected to use one of them on a wide receiver.
The Jets hosted Wilson on a pre-draft visit to their facility last week. The Falcons, who also have a major need at wide receiver, are another potential landing spot within the top 10.
However, the two most popular projected landing spots for Wilson are the Washington Commanders (who hold the No. 11 overall pick) and the New Orleans Saints (who have both the 16th and 18th overall picks). The Commanders could pair Wilson with fellow former Ohio State wide receivers Terry McLaurin and Curtis Samuel to form an all-Buckeye trio of starting wideouts, while the Saints could pair Wilson with Michael Thomas and continue their recent affinity toward former Ohio State products.
Ron Rivera spent an extended period of time talking to Ohio State wide receivers coach Brian Hartline at OSU’s pro day, presumably gathering intel on Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson.
WR Chris Olave
Bosarge: Round 1, No. 8 overall, Atlanta Falcons
Sanchez: Round 1, No. 10 overall, New York Jets
Iyer: Round 1, No. 11 overall, Washington Commanders
McShay: Round 1, No. 11 overall, Washington Commanders
Schofield: Round 1, No. 11 overall, Washington Commanders
Cummings: Round 1, No. 13 overall, Houston Texans
Draft Tek: Round 1, No. 13 overall, Houston Texans
Bleacher Report: Round 1, No. 15 overall, Philadelphia Eagles
Brown: Round 1, No. 15 overall, Philadelphia Eagles
Treash: Round 1, No. 16 overall, New Orleans Saints
Schrager: Round 1, No. 17 overall, Los Angeles Chargers
Easterling: Round 1, No. 22 overall, Green Bay Packers
Reid: Round 1, No. 22 overall, Green Bay Packers
Reuter: Round 1, No. 22 overall, Green Bay Packers
Tankathon: Round 1, No. 22 overall, Green Bay Packers
Wilson: Round 1, No. 22 overall, Green Bay Packers
Although most NFL draft analysts expect Wilson to be the first Ohio State wide receiver drafted, that’s far from a unanimous opinion, as five of the 16 mock drafts we surveyed have Olave going off the board before his former teammate.
Eleven of the 16 mock drafts we rounded up have Olave going within the first 17 picks. All of the other five mock drafts have Olave going to the Green Bay Packers, who will likely draft a new wide receiver with the No. 22 overall pick they acquired as part of the package they received from the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for Davante Adams.
There are plenty of other teams that could prevent Olave from falling to the Packers, though, as the Falcons, Jets, Commanders, Texans, Eagles, Saints and Chargers are all viewed as candidates to potentially draft the Buckeye big-play threat. The Jets and Commanders both hosted Olave on pre-draft visits last week – as did the Dallas Cowboys, though they’ll likely need to trade up from their 24th pick to have a shot at landing Olave.
OT Nicholas Petit-Frere
Iyer: Round 2, No. 45 overall, Baltimore Ravens
Wilson: Round 2, No. 45 overall, Baltimore Ravens
Brown: Round 2, No. 52 overall, Pittsburgh Steelers
Tankathon: Round 2, No. 62 overall, Kansas City Chiefs
Bosarge: Round 3, No. 73 overall, Indianapolis Colts
Cummings: Round 3, No. 75 overall, Denver Broncos
Reid: Round 3, No. 90 overall, Tennessee Titans
Draft Tek: Round 3, No. 96 overall, Denver Broncos
Easterling: Round 3, No. 96 overall, Denver Broncos
Schofield: Round 3, No. 100 overall, Baltimore Ravens
Bleacher Report: Round 4, No. 107 overall, Houston Texans
Petit-Frere is the safest bet to be a Day 2 draft pick for Ohio State this year, as he is projected to be a second- or third-round pick in all but two of the mock drafts we found that include at least three rounds. There’s less consensus on whether Petit-Frere will be an early Day 2 pick or a late Day 2 pick, as four of those mock drafts have Petit-Frere going in the second round but six of them have going in the third round, while one mock draft has him going with the second pick of Day 3.
Two mock drafts have Petit-Frere going to the Baltimore Ravens with the 45th overall pick, which was the most generous projection we found for NPF in recent mock drafts. Three mock drafts have Petit-Frere going to the Denver Broncos with one of their third-round picks. Petit-Frere would likely slot in at right tackle, the position he played for Ohio State in 2020 before moving over to left tackle in 2021, for either the Ravens or Broncos.
Another projected third-round landing spot, the Tennessee Titans, is one of three teams Petit-Frere told Eleven Warriors he had a pre-draft visit lined up with after Ohio State’s pro day, along with the Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Nicholas Petit-Frere is the most likely Buckeye to be a second-round pick in this year’s NFL draft.
TE Jeremy Ruckert
Bleacher Report: Round 2, No. 45 overall, Baltimore Ravens
Iyer: Round 3, No. 77 overall, Minnesota Vikings
Wilson: Round 3, No. 80 overall, Houston Texans
Easterling: Round 3, No. 90 overall, Tennessee Titans
Tankathon: Round 3, No. 92 overall, Green Bay Packers
Cummings: Round 4, No. 112 overall, New York Giants
Reid: Round 4, No. 120 overall, New Orleans Saints
Draft Tek: Round 4, No. 132 overall, Green Bay Packers
Bosarge: Round 5, No. 159 overall, Indianapolis Colts
Like Petit-Frere, the highest projection for Ruckert in this round of mock drafts has him going to the Ravens with the No. 45 overall pick – though in Ruckert’s case, only one mock draft we found has Ruckert coming off the board in the second round.
Overall, five of the 12 mock drafts we found that included at least three rounds have Ruckert being selected on the second day of the draft, while the four seven-round mock drafts that did not include Ruckert in the first three rounds projected that he will be either a fourth- or fifth-round pick. Generally, the consensus is that Ruckert will be either a third- or fourth-round pick, though a climb into the second round isn’t out of the question.
The only team projected to pick Ruckert in multiple mock drafts in this roundup is the Packers, who should be looking to add some new weapons in the passing game for Aaron Rodgers at both wide receiver and tight end.
DT Haskell Garrett
Reuter: Round 3, No. 86 overall, Las Vegas Raiders
Draft Tek: Round 4, No. 107 overall, Houston Texans
Iyer: Round 4, No. 110 overall, Baltimore Ravens
Bosarge: Round 4, No. 121 overall, Kansas City Chiefs
Reid: Round 4, No. 123 overall, Los Angeles Chargers
Cummings: Round 5, No. 160 overall, Los Angeles Chargers
While Garrett could potentially be selected in the third round, which is where Chad Reuter believes the Las Vegas Raiders will take him off the board, the consensus in recent mock drafts is that Garrett will be a fourth-round pick.
Among the seven mock drafts we surveyed that include at least four rounds, more than half of them have Garrett being selected in Round 4, which would mark the second straight year Ohio State has had a defensive tackle taken in the fourth round, where Tommy Togiai was drafted last year.
If the Raiders selected Garrett, they would pair him up with fellow former Ohio State defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins. Multiple mock drafts have Garrett going to the Chargers, where he’d join a defensive front led by former Ohio State star Joey Bosa.
The fourth round is the most common projected landing spot for Haskell Garrett.
OL Thayer Munford
Brown: Round 3, No. 88 overall, Dallas Cowboys
Iyer: Round 4, No. 107 overall, Houston Texans
Bosarge: Round 4, No. 109 overall, Seattle Seahawks
Draft Tek: Round 4, No. 129 overall, Dallas Cowboys
Reid: Round 4, No. 137 overall, Carolina Panthers
The fourth round also appears to be the sweet spot for Munford’s draft stock, as he is also projected to be a fourth-round pick in four of the seven mock drafts we looked through that included at least four rounds.
Like Garrett, Munford shows up as a third-round pick in one mock draft, as Eddie Brown has him going in Round 3 to the Dallas Cowboys, who are also projected to pick Munford in Draft Tek’s mock. Offensive line is expected to be a priority position for the Cowboys in this year’s draft, so a lineman like Munford with the versatility to play both tackle and guard could be an appealing middle-round option in Dallas.
Of the seven Buckeyes who are widely projected to be drafted, Munford was the only one omitted entirely from a seven-round mock draft we found (Pro Football Network’s Ian Cummings did not have Munford being chosen), but that’s an anomaly compared to Munford’s projections in other mocks. It’s possible Munford could fall out of the fourth round, but a slide out of the draft entirely would be shocking.
DE Tyreke Smith
Reid: Round 4, No. 107 overall, Houston Texans
Iyer: Round 4, No. 118 overall, Cleveland Browns
Draft Tek: Round 6, No. 192 overall, Minnesota Vikings
Bosarge: Round 6, No. 210 overall, New England Patriots
Cummings: Round 7, No. 227 overall, Las Vegas Raiders
None of the mock drafts we found have Smith being selected on the first two days of the draft, but two of them have Smith coming off the board early in the fourth round. ESPN’s Jordan Reid projects that Smith will be the second player picked on Day 3 by the Houston Texans – whose head coach Lovie Smith had a lengthy one-on-one conversation with Tyreke Smith following Ohio State’s pro day – while Sporting News’ Vinnie Iyer has Smith playing for his hometown team with the Browns selecting the Cleveland Heights native.
Draft Tek has Smith going to the Vikings, another team who Smith said had shown considerable interest in him following Ohio State’s pro day, while the Patriots are viewed another potential sixth-round landing spot for the former Buckeye edge rusher.
While Cummings has Smith falling to the seventh round in his mock, Smith is projected to be selected in all five of the seven-round mocks we found, suggesting he is far more likely than not to be drafted even if he has to wait a while to hear his name called.
