After Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave were both selected within the first 11 picks of the 2022 NFL draft, Ohio State has had at least two first-round picks in seven of the last nine years.
There appears to be a high degree of likelihood that streak will continue in 2023.
Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud is already being projected as a possible No. 1 overall pick in many of the preliminary 2023 NFL mock drafts that have already been released. And some draft analysts believe Jaxon Smith-Njigba is an even better prospect than Wilson and Olave, setting up the distinct possibility he could also be a top-10 pick next year.
There’s plenty of other third-, fourth-, fifth- and even sixth-year Buckeyes who could potentially be NFL draft picks in a year’s time, too. Left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. is another Buckeye who’s viewed as a potential 2023 first-round pick if he has a good third year at Ohio State, while players like Dawand Jones, Zach Harrison, Cameron Brown and Josh Proctor will look to turn their decisions to return to Ohio State for another year into early-round draft choices.
A lot can change in the next 12 months, and a player being projected as a top pick now in no way guarantees that he actually will be a year from now. But it’s never too early to take a look ahead.
Now that the 2022 NFL draft is over, NFL scouting departments will soon begin the process of evaluating players who could be 2023 draft prospects, and they’ll have plenty of Buckeyes to watch. Below, we take a look at 20 draft-eligible Ohio State players who could be on their radar either now or by the end of the season, starting with those who are most likely to be top picks next spring.
C.J. Stroud, QB, Redshirt Sophomore
Considering that only one quarterback was selected in the first round and none before the 20th overall pick in this year’s draft, C.J. Stroud likely would have been one of the top picks – if not the top pick – if he had been eligible to enter the 2022 class. Coming off a first season as Ohio State’s starting quarterback in which he threw for 4,435 yards and 44 touchdowns with only six interceptions, Stroud will enter the 2023 draft cycle as one of its top two quarterback prospects, along with Alabama’s Bryce Young.
The NFL’s interest in Stroud was already apparent when they watched him throw to Wilson, Olave and Demario McCall at this year’s Ohio State pro day, and talent evaluators from teams that could be in the market for a quarterback next year will certainly be watching Stroud closely this fall.
He’ll need to build upon last season and be even better this season if he’s actually going to be the No. 1 overall pick that some project he will be, but he appears to be on a trajectory toward becoming Ohio State’s third top-15 quarterback draft pick (along with Dwayne Haskins and Justin Fields) in a five-year span.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Junior
As great as Wilson and Olave were at Ohio State, neither of them were the Buckeyes’ most productive receiver last season. That distinction belonged to Smith-Njigba, who set single-season school records for both receptions and receiving yards by catching 95 passes for a whopping 1,606 yards.
If the Rose Bowl was any indication, he could put up even bigger numbers this season as Ohio State’s clear-cut No. 1 receiver, as he set single-game school records with 15 catches for 347 yards against Utah after Olave and Wilson opted out of that game.
An exceptional route-runner who is adept at extending plays in the open field and catches just about everything that comes his way, JSN is well on his way to being Ohio State’s next first-round receiver and might end up being drafted even higher than Wilson and Olave were.
Paris Johnson Jr., OT, Junior
Johnson is another Buckeye who could emerge as one of the top prospects in the 2023 NFL draft class. The Draft Network’s Joe Marino projected in his initial mock draft for next year that Johnson will be the No. 5 overall pick and the first offensive lineman off the board a year from now.
In Johnson’s case, though, that projection is almost entirely based on conjecture about how he’ll perform this season at a position he hasn’t actually played for Ohio State yet, making him far less of a sure thing to actually be a top prospect a year from now than Stroud and Smith-Njigba are.
He was the No. 1 offensive lineman in the recruiting class of 2020 and certainly looks the part of an NFL offensive tackle at 6-foot-6 and 315 pounds, so it’s realistic to think Johnson could be one of the top left tackles in college football this season, which could set him up to be an early-round pick if he enters the 2023 draft. But no true evaluation of Johnson as an NFL tackle prospect can be made before he’s even started a college game at tackle, and some rough moments in the spring game showed his transition back outside from guard is still a work in progress.
Dawand Jones, OT, Senior
Ohio State’s right tackle also has the potential to emerge as an early-round prospect in the 2023 NFL draft. There aren’t many 6-foot-8, 360-pound human beings on Earth who can move as well as Jones does, and those rare physical traits are sure to intrigue pro scouts.
Jones considered entering this year’s NFL draft after last season, but opted to return for another year after receiving fourth- and fifth-round draft grades, with hopes of being a first- or second-round pick next year.
Whether he does will largely depend on how much improvement Jones shows in pass protection this season. While Jones has shown he can overpower defenders in the run game and pairs his size with plenty of athleticism, scouts will want to see him more consistency and cleaner technique from the fourth-year Buckeye in 2022.
Zach Harrison, DE, Senior
At this time a year ago, Harrison was being projected as a first-round pick in many early mock drafts. After a junior season that fell short of expectations, however, Harrison opted to return to Ohio State for another year and won’t enter the 2023 draft cycle with as much hype.
Still, Harrison’s physical tools are such that he could go as high as the first round next year if he can finally have the kind of season that Buckeye fans have been waiting to see from him since he arrived at Ohio State as a five-star recruit.
At 6-foot-6 and 272 pounds with legitimate track speed, Harrison more than looks the part of an NFL defensive end but has only recorded 8.5 sacks in three seasons as a Buckeye. He would have likely been a middle-round pick if he entered the 2022 draft; whether he can become more than that will depend on whether he becomes a more consistent difference-maker in his senior season.
Ronnie Hickman, S, Redshirt Junior
Hickman didn’t get talked about much last season as a player who could have entered this year’s NFL draft if he wanted to, but he looked the part of a future NFL safety. As the most productive player on Ohio State’s 2021 defense, Hickman recorded a team-high 100 total tackles while also demonstrating big-play ability with two interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown, and a forced fumble.
After lining up primarily as a strong safety last season, Hickman is moving to free safety this season, and his draft stock could skyrocket if he can play as well in his new role as he did in his previous role.
At 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, Hickman has the size and athleticism to potentially play either safety spot at the next level. If he can prove he can both man the deep middle and make plays in the box, that versatility will increase his value as a pro prospect.
Ronnie Hickman is among the Buckeye defenders who are the most likely to be selected in the 2023 NFL draft.
Cameron Brown, CB, Redshirt Senior
Brown, who has said on multiple occasions that he thought he would be in the NFL after just three years at Ohio State, is instead back with the Buckeyes for a fifth season in 2022. But while Brown hasn’t made it to the NFL quite as quickly as he originally expected, that doesn’t mean he won’t make it there eventually.
When Brown has been on the field, he’s been strong in coverage for the Buckeyes, allowing only 11 catches for 155 yards and no touchdowns with one interception and seven pass breakups in 248 coverage snaps last season, according to Pro Football Focus. He has enough size to continue playing outside cornerback at the NFL at 6 feet and 190 pounds, and he has said he can break 4.3 seconds in the 40-yard dash.
Staying healthy has been Brown’s biggest issue, as he battled multiple injuries last season after he tore his Achilles in Ohio State’s second game of 2020. A healthy 2022 season in which he’s able to play up to his full ability all year would go a long way toward bolstering his draft stock.
Josh Proctor, S, Redshirt Senior
Another fifth-year defensive back who thought he would already be in the NFL by now, Proctor opted to take a redshirt and return to Ohio State for another year after suffering a compound fracture in the Buckeyes’ second game of the 2021 season, which not only sidelined him for the rest of the year but also could have kept him from being fully healthy in time to participate in pre-draft workouts.
Proctor has flashed plenty of big-play ability over the course of his Ohio State career as both a rangy athlete who can make plays in coverage and a hard hitter in run support. He has experience playing free safety, strong safety and even in the slot, giving him the versatility to potentially line up at multiple spots in an NFL defense.
He has had some inconsistency as both a tackler and in coverage in past years, and NFL scouts will want to see that he has suffered no ill effects from his injury, but Proctor still has high upside and could rise up draft boards in a big way if he can perform up to his potential in 2022.
Tanner McCalister, S/CB, Super Senior
McCalister could have entered this year’s NFL draft after playing four seasons at Oklahoma State – Jim Knowles was actually surprised he didn’t – but instead, McCalister chose to use his additional year of eligibility and follow Knowles to Columbus by transferring to Ohio State for his final year of eligibility.
While Knowles felt McCalister was already ready to play in the NFL, McCalister is hoping to elevate his draft stock by playing one more season with the Buckeyes, and he should have plenty of opportunity to impress pro scouts as the projected starting nickel safety in Knowles’ Ohio State defense.
NFL scouts already have plenty of tape to evaluate McCalister on, as he played 1,849 defensive snaps in his four years at Oklahoma State, and he was sound in both coverage and tackling while lining up both in the slot and also playing deep safety at times with the Cowboys. He’ll likely play a very similar role at Ohio State, and if he can help lead a defensive turnaround for the Buckeyes this year, that should only bolster his chances of being drafted next year.
Taron Vincent, DT, Redshirt Senior
Vincent’s first four years at Ohio State haven’t lived up to the expectations that came with being a five-star recruit, but he finished the 2021 season on a high note when he recorded a career-high six tackles in the Rose Bowl. If Vincent can be more consistently disruptive throughout the 2022 season, he’s another Buckeye defender who has the potential to make a big move up NFL draft boards.
The 6-foot-2, 305-pound defensive tackle has the size, power and quickness to make the jump to the next level, and he comes from NFL lineage, as his father Troy Vincent played in the NFL for 15 years and is now the league’s executive vice president of football operations – a role in which he made plenty of television appearances this past weekend announcing draft picks, setting up the possibility that he could announce his own son’s draft selection next year.
Vincent will need a big year to ensure he actually gets drafted, but there’s still plenty of people inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center who believe he has star potential, and he wouldn’t be the first Buckeye defensive tackle in recent history to parlay a breakout fifth-year senior season into an NFL draft choice (see 2020 third-round pick DaVon Hamilton).
Noah Ruggles, K, Super Senior
If Ruggles can kick the ball through the uprights as consistently in 2022 as he did in 2021, when he made 20 of his 21 field goal attempts, he’ll certainly get a look from NFL scouts next year.
Concerns about Ruggles’ leg strength might hurt his chances of being drafted, as NFL teams generally want a kicker who can handle both field goals and kickoffs and who can make 50-plus-yard kicks. Ruggles’ career-long field goals in college is 49 yards, and he struggled enough on kickoffs last season that Ohio State just brought in USC transfer Parker Lewis to take over kickoff duties.
That said, the most important thing for a kicker is to be reliable on field goals inside 50 yards, and Ruggles certainly proved he could do that last year, which should at least land him a chance to compete for an NFL kicking job a year from now.
Luke Wypler, C, Redshirt Sophomore
It is rare for an Ohio State offensive lineman to enter the NFL draft after just three years – Michael Jordan is the only one who’s done so since Orlando Pace, and both of them started for the Buckeyes as true freshmen – so Wypler might not be an obvious candidate to enter the 2022 NFL draft when he could still play as many as four more years with the Buckeyes (thanks to the additional year of eligibility all players received in 2020).
A strong 2022 season could give him reason to at least consider it, though, since this will be his second year as Ohio State’s starting center and he projects to have a future in the league.
If he’s going to make the jump to the NFL after just three years at Ohio State, scouts will want to see him make the jump from being a steady presence in the middle of the offensive line to becoming a dominant force, but his solid first season in the lineup as a redshirt freshman was a good start.
Matt Jones, G, Redshirt Senior
After waiting his turn behind the likes of Johnson, Thayer Munford, Wyatt Davis, Josh Myers and Jonah Jackson, among others, Jones will finally be a full-time starter on Ohio State’s offensive line as a fifth-year senior, giving him the chance to establish himself as an NFL prospect.
He performed well in spot duty at guard for the Buckeyes last season, and the fact that Ohio State went out of its way to get him on the field – even when it had five likely future NFL offensive linemen in the starting lineup – showed that they believe in his potential.
Jones hasn’t played enough yet to be truly evaluated as a potential NFL draftee, but considering Ohio State has had 11 offensive linemen drafted in the last seven years, scouts will surely be taking a good look at Jones as he enters the starting lineup this year.
Steele Chambers, LB, Redshirt Junior
Considering that Chambers was still playing running back at this time a year ago, it might be in his best interest to play two more years of college football rather than enter the 2022 NFL draft. But he was impressive enough as a first-year linebacker last season to make him a prospect to watch this year.
In the long term, Chambers’ move to linebacker should give him a better chance of being drafted than if he had stayed at running back, where he was buried on the depth chart behind TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams.
At 6-foot-1 and 232 pounds, Chambers brings the speed that NFL teams covet at the linebacker position in today’s game, and he showed natural playmaking instincts in his first year playing the position at Ohio State. Now that he’ll have a full offseason at the position when the Buckeyes return to the field this fall, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him make massive strides – and if he does, he could quickly generate interest from the league.
Steele Chambers might still be multiple years away from going pro, but he showed NFL potential in his first season at linebacker.
Mitch Rossi, FB/TE, Super Senior
Although he started his Ohio State career as a walk-on, Rossi has hopes of playing in the NFL, and he returned to the Buckeyes for a sixth year of eligibility because he believes another year can help his chances of earning an NFL opportunity.
Rossi would project to the NFL as a fullback, a position that most teams don’t use heavily anymore, which means Rossi’s path to the league would likely be as a late-round pick or undrafted free agent.
His blocking ability and extensive special teams experience, however, should at least earn him a look from the league, and he should get at least a few more chances to show what he can do in the passing game this season following Jeremy Ruckert’s departure to the NFL.
Jerron Cage, DT, Super Senior
Cage – who, along with Rossi, is now the longest-tenured player on Ohio State’s roster as a sixth-year senior – will likely need a big final season with the Buckeyes if he’s going to get drafted, but he chose to use his additional year of eligibility to give himself a chance to make that happen.
There isn’t anything particularly flashy about Cage’s game to make him stand out as an NFL prospect, but he was solid as a part-time starter at nose tackle last season, and he showed he has some speed for a big man when he returned a fumble for a 57-yard touchdown against Penn State last year.
With only 5.5 career tackles for loss and 1.5 career sacks, however, Cage will need to start making more plays in the backfield as a run-stopper and/or a pass-rusher if he’s going to really grab NFL scouts’ attention.
Javontae Jean-Baptiste, DE/OLB, Redshirt Senior
Jean-Baptiste is another veteran defensive lineman who makes this list not because he would project as a likely draft pick right now, but because it could be his last year at Ohio State (though he does still have the COVID year of eligibility) and NFL scouts will evaluate him as such.
As a 6-foot-5, 255-pound defensive end who was recruited by some schools as a linebacker out of high school, Jean-Baptiste has the physical makeup of an NFL edge defender who would probably be best suited to play outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme. He may get a real chance to show how he would project into that role this season, as he’s among the Buckeyes who are expected to play the Jack position in Knowles’ defensive scheme.
He’ll have to be more productive than he’s been so far in his career if he’s going to get a real NFL look, however, as he’s had only six tackles for loss with four sacks to this point. And he’ll need to take advantage of the snaps he gets as Harrison and a pair of sophomores who aren’t yet draft-eligible – Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau – could see most of the playing time on the edge for Ohio State this year.
Tyler Friday, DE, Redshirt Senior
Like Jean-Baptiste, Friday is another fifth-year defensive end who would not currently project to be an NFL draft pick but could still end up becoming a pro prospect if he has a strong finish to his Ohio State career.
Friday has a similar physical skill set and has drawn comparisons to former Ohio State defensive end Tyquan Lewis, who became a second-round NFL draft pick after an excellent fifth year with the Buckeyes. At 6-foot-3 and 264 pounds, Friday has been a strong run-stopping defensive end when he’s been on the field, which is likely where his game would translate best to the next level.
That said, he hasn’t had a tackle for loss since 2019 as he missed the entire 2021 season with a torn ACL after also battling injuries in 2020. He’ll need to make a bigger impact as a pass-rusher this year if he’s going to earn draftable grades, and also like Jean-Baptiste, he’ll have to do so in what could be limited playing time in a deep defensive end rotation.
Teradja Mitchell, LB, Super Senior
If the NCAA hadn’t given all players an additional year of eligibility in 2020, Mitchell would have exhausted his collegiate eligibility last season and would have had to hope for an opportunity to make an NFL roster as an undrafted free agent. Because he was able to take advantage of that extra year of eligibility and return to Ohio State for a fifth season, however, Mitchell has one more chance to get himself on NFL draft boards.
He’ll need to be better than he was last year, when he began the season as Ohio State’s starting Will linebacker but fell out of the rotation almost entirely by the end of the season. But a move back to Mike linebacker this year could better fit his skill set and put him at the position he’d be most likely to play in the NFL.
At his best, Mitchell has shown the ability to be a disruptive player in the box who can blow up plays around the line of scrimmage as a downhill attacker. In an era where speed and coverage ability are more important than size to play linebacker in the NFL, however, Mitchell will need to show more ability to make plays outside the box if he’s going to seriously emerge as a pro prospect.
Julian Fleming, WR, Junior
Considering that Fleming has caught only 19 passes for 160 yards and one touchdown so far in his Ohio State career, he doesn’t yet look like a candidate to enter the NFL draft early. Given his recruiting pedigree, however, a big season that puts that option on the table for Fleming can’t be ruled out.
After all, Fleming was the No. 3 overall prospect in the 2020 recruiting class, in which he was ranked even higher than Stroud, Smith-Njigba and Johnson. And with a size and speed combination that Brian Hartline has described as “like I’ve probably never seen in college football,” his potential to have a Jameson Williams-esque breakout as an NFL prospect remains real.
For now, Fleming’s focus should be on securing a spot in Ohio State’s receiver rotation and producing more at the collegiate level rather than when he’ll make the jump to the NFL. But considering his five-star background, it’s likely scouts will keep an eye on what he does this year since he is now draft-eligible.
