Nicholas Petit-Frere has a new home.
The Tennessee Titans selected the former Ohio State offensive tackle with the No. 69 overall pick in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Petit-Frere is the third Buckeye to be selected in this year's draft, joining wide receivers Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave, who were selected with the 10th and 11th picks in the first round.
He is the highest-drafted Ohio State offensive tackle Taylor Decker was the No. 16 overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft, and the first one drafted since Isaiah Prince was selected in the sixth round of the 2019 draft.
The 6-foot-5, 315-pound offensive tackle heads to the NFL with experience playing on both ends of the offensive line. He started at left tackle for the Buckeyes last year, when he earned second-team AP All-American honors and was an Outland Trophy semifinalist. In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Petit-Frere started seven contests at right tackle and was a second-team All Big Ten selection.
Although Petit-Frere was only a starter for two seasons at Ohio State, the Florida native played in all 14 games as a reserve in the 2019 season after redshirting his freshman year in 2018.
Petit-Frere opted to leave Ohio State before the Rose Bowl and enter the NFL Draft rather than return to OSU as a fifth-year senior. He'll now begin his journey in professional football, which he’s dreamed of since he was a child.
“I came to Ohio State because I wanted to play in the NFL, I wanted to achieve my lifelong dream of playing in the league,” Petit-Frere said at the NFL combine in March.
Petit-Frere joins fellow former Ohio State offensive lineman Jamarco Jones on the Titans’ offensive line. He’ll likely have a chance to compete with 2021 second-round pick Dillon Radunz for the starting job at right tackle, while he could potentially be Tennessee’s long-term successor to Taylor Lewan at left tackle.
Joining the Titans’ offensive line means he’ll be blocking for one of the NFL’s premier running backs in Derrick Henry, and Petit-Frere was overjoyed to have that opportunity after the Titans picked him.
Nick Petit-Frere on blocking for Derrick Henry: "Oh my God are you kidding me? It's such a blessing. I hope I get a chance to meet him, and me and him become best friends." #Titans
— Emily Proud (@emily_proud) April 30, 2022
