Ohio State just saw two players selected among the top-11 picks in the 2022 NFL Draft, and it's looking like the Buckeyes are going to do even better next year.
In the aftermath of this year's draft, prognosticators are already hard at work on next year's projections, with a flood of way-too-early 2023 mock drafts hitting the Internet this week, and they're all quite Buckeye-heavy.
C.J. Stroud leads the way on every list as he's projected as the near-consensus top quarterback in the 2023 draft class with most outlets projecting him as the future No. 1 overall pick.
Stroud is joined by Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Paris Johnson Jr. as consensus projected first-round picks by every major outlet while Dawand Jones, Zach Harrison and Lathan Ransom all appear in the first round of some early mock drafts.
It's a long way until next college football season, much less next year's draft, but here's a look at the current projections.
ESPN
- #1 C.J. Stroud: Houston Texans
- #4 Jaxon Smith-Njigba: Jacksonville Jaguars
- #11 Paris Johnson Jr.: Pittsburgh Steelers
Todd McShay of ESPN has three Buckeyes going in the first round in his early 2023 mock draft, and all three of them are the first players at their positions.
C.J. Stroud leads the way as the projected No. 1 overall pick to the Houston Texas. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is not far behind as McShay projects the Buckeye receiver to go No. 4 overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars. McShay also projects Paris Johnson Jr. will be the first offensive lineman off the board, going No. 11 to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Athletic
- #1 C.J. Stroud: Carolina Panthers
- #8 Jaxon Smith-Njigba: New York Giants
- #13 Paris Johnson Jr.: Las Vegas Raiders
- #16 Zach Harrison: Philadelphia Eagles
The Athletic projects four Buckeyes to be selected in the first round of the 2023 draft, headlined by C.J. Stroud as the No. 1 overall pick to the Carolina Panthers.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba is also projected as a top-10 pick and the first receiver off the board, mocked at No. 8 overall to the New York Giants. Paris Johnson Jr. is also projected to be the first player at his position off the board as he's mocked to the Las Vegas Raiders with the No. 13 overall pick.
The Athletic is the lone outlet to project Zach Harrison as a first-round pick, mocking the Buckeye defensive end to the Philadelphia Eagles with the No. 16 overall pick.
Sports Illustrated
- #1 C.J. Stroud: Carolina Panthers
- #5 Paris Johnson Jr.: New York Jets
- #7 Jaxon Smith-Njigba: Las Vegas Raiders
Sports Illustrated projects four Buckeyes to be taken in the top-10 in next year's draft with C.J. Stroud, Paris Johnson Jr. and Jaxon Smith-Njigba all projected as the top players at their positions.
Stroud leads the group as the projected No. 1 overall pick to the Carolina Panthers with Johnson following at No. 5 to the New York Jets and Smith-Njigba at No. 7 to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Yahoo! Sports
- #1 C.J. Stroud: Houston Texans
- #9 Jaxon Smith-Njigba: Chicago Bears
- #11 Paris Johnson Jr.: Washington Commanders
Yahoo! Sports joins the vast majority of outlets in projecting C.J. Stroud as the top quarterback and the No. 1 overall pick with Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Paris Johnson Jr. following not far behind in the first half of the first round.
Smith-Njigba is projected as the No. 9 overall pick to the Chicago Bears while Johnson is mocked to the Washington Commanders with the No. 11 overall pick. All three Buckeyes are projected to be the first players selected at their positions.
The Draft Network
- #1 C.J. Stroud: Houston Texans
- #5 Paris Johnson Jr.: Jacksonville Jaguars
- #7 Jaxon Smith-Njigba: Las Vegas Raiders
The Draft Network joins Sports Illustrated as one of two outlets projecting three Buckeyes to be taken in the top-7 of the 2023 draft, and they have all three in the same order with the same projected picks – just to different teams.
C.J. Stroud is the projected No. 1 overall pick to the Houston Texans while Paris Johnson Jr. is mocked to the Jacksonville Jaguars with the No. 5 overall pick and Jaxon Smith-Njigba to the Las Vegas Raiders with the No. 7 overall pick. All three are projected to be the first players selected at their positions.
Pro Football Focus
- #4 C.J. Stroud: Detroit Lions
- #19 Jaxon Smith-Njigba: Arizona Cardinals
- #32 Paris Johnson Jr.: Buffalo Bills
The only major mock draft that doesn't project C.J. Stroud as the first quarterback off the board in the 2023 draft, Pro Football Focus has Stroud going at No. 4 to the Detroit lions following Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, who they project to be selected No. 1 overall to the Houston Texans.
PFF also has the lowest projections for both Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Paris Johnson Jr. of any major mock draft, projecting both to be selected in the back half of the 2023 NFL Draft with Smith-Njigba going No. 19 overall to the Arizona Cardinals and Johnson No. 32 overall to the Buffalo Bills.
Sporting News
- #1 C.J. Stroud: Houston Texans
- #5 Jaxon Smith-Njigba: Jacksonville Jaguars
- #21 Paris Johnson Jr.: Arizona Cardinals
Like most outlets, Sporting News sees C.J. Stroud as the future No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft with Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Paris Johnson Jr. joining him in the first round.
Sporting News has Smith-Njigba going No. 5 overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars as the first receiver off the board while Johnson is mocked at No. 21 to the Arizona Cardinals as the third offensive lineman off the board behind offensive tackles Zion Nelson of Miami and Jaxson Kirkland of Washington
Pro Football Network
- #3 C.J. Stroud: Detroit Lions
- #4 Jaxon Smith-Njigba: New York Jets
- #22 Paris Johnson Jr.: Cincinnati Bengals
- #23 Dawand Jones: Houston Texans
Pro Football Network is one of the few outlets that does not project C.J. Stroud as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft, but they still have him as the top quarterback in the draft, mocking him to the Detroit Lions with the No. 3 overall pick behind Alabama EDGE Will Anderson Jr. and Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter.
Three other Buckeyes make Pro Football Network's mock first round with Jaxon Smith-Njigba projected as the No. 4 overall pick to the New York Jets with a pair of Ohio State offensive linemen mocked in the second half of the first round.
Paris Johnson Jr. is projected as the No. 22 overall pick to the Cincinnati Bengals while Dawand Jones is mocked to the Houston Texans with the No. 23 overall pick.
Bleacher Report
- #2 C.J. Stroud: Atlanta Falcons
- #5 Jaxon Smith-Njigba: Jacksonville Jaguars
- #17 Dawand Jones: Tennessee Titans
- #29 Paris Johnson Jr.: Kansas City Chiefs
Bleacher Report joins the vast majority of outlets in projecting C.J. Stroud as the top quarterback in the 2023 NFL Draft, but they don't have him going No. 1 overall. Instead, they mock him at No. 2 to the Atlanta Falcons, behind Alabama EDGE Will Anderson Jr.
Three other Ohio State players are projected as first-round picks in Bleacher Report's mock draft – Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Dawand Jones and Paris Johnson Jr.
Smith-Njigba is projected to join Stroud as a top-five pick, going No. 5 overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars, while Jones is mocked to the Tennessee Titans with the No. 17 overall pick and Johnson to the Kansas City Chiefs with pick No. 29.
Walter Football
- #1 C.J. Stroud: Houston Texans
- #4 Jaxon Smith-Njigba: Jacksonville Jaguars
- #19 Lathan Ransom: Dallas Cowboys
- #28 Paris Johnson Jr.: Los Angeles Chargers
In Walter Football's 2023 mock draft, C.J. Stroud is projected as the draft's top quarterback and No. 1 overall pick to the Houston Texans with Jaxon Smith-Njigba following not far behind as the No. 4 overall pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Two more Buckeyes make this list as Lathan Ransom gets his only first-round projection, mocked to the Dallas Cowboys with the No. 19 overall pick while Paris Johnson Jr. is projected as the No. 28 overall pick to the Los Angeles Chargers.
