The 2023 All-Buckeye Team: How A 53-Man Roster of Ohio State’s Active NFL Players Stacks Up

With the newest group of former Ohio State players now in the NFL following the 2023 NFL draft, it’s time for an updated look at how a 53-man roster composed entirely of active NFL players from Ohio State would look. If all of the NFL’s Buckeyes were on the same team, where would the All-Buckeye Team have the best depth chart in the league and what would be its weak spots?

To be eligible for the All-Buckeye team, a player has to have finished his college career at Ohio State and must either currently be on an NFL roster or have been active for at least half of the 2022 NFL season (nine or more games). Out of those eligible players, we’ve constructed a 53-man roster with the objective of creating as complete and balanced a depth chart as possible. Sixteen other active NFL players from Ohio State who didn’t quite make the cut at their respective positions form the All-Buckeye team’s practice squad.

For the purposes of this exercise, edge defenders are listed as defensive ends and interior defensive linemen are listed as defensive tackles, though some of the players listed as DEs are 3-4 outside linebackers for their NFL teams and some of the players listed as DTs are defensive ends in three-man fronts.

Wide receiver and defensive line stand out as two of the All-Buckeye team’s strongest positions while quarterback and offensive line are among the other positions that have received reinforcements as a result of the 2023 NFL draft. Across the board, the All-Buckeye team is stacked with actual NFL starters – in many cases, more than there are actually starting spots on this team – with the exception of a couple of positions like tight end and kicker.

Would the All-Buckeye team be good enough to contend for a Super Bowl this year? Check out the roster, read our analysis and let us know what you think. 

QB: Justin Fields, C.J. Stroud

Now that Stroud has joined Fields in the league, Ohio State looks to have the best pair of NFL quarterbacks it’s ever had. Assuming Stroud starts right away for the Houston Texans as expected, Fields and Stroud will become the first pair of Ohio State quarterbacks to simultaneously start in the league since Bobby Hoying and Kent Graham both started games in 1998.

Entering his third year in the NFL, Fields gets the nod as the All-Buckeye starting quarterback after passing for 2,242 yards and 17 touchdowns and running for 1,143 yards and eight touchdowns more in 2022. But he now has real competition for the starting job from Stroud, his backup at Ohio State in 2020, as Ohio State is set to be one of just five schools (along with Alabama, California, Clemson and Oklahoma) with multiple NFL starting quarterbacks in 2023.

RELATED C.J. Stroud Has “A Really Special Feeling” About Future in Houston, Says There’s “No Limit” On What He Can Accomplish in Year One With the Texans

RB: J.K. Dobbins, Ezekiel Elliott, Trey Sermon

While Dobbins’ 2022 season got off to a slow start after he missed the entire 2021 season with a torn ACL, he looked to be close to his old self by the end of last year. Assuming he is back to 100% in 2023, Dobbins will be the Baltimore Ravens’ feature back and has a chance to be one of the top running backs in the NFL.

Elliott’s days as one of the NFL’s elite running backs are likely over, as evidenced by his remaining unsigned since he was released by the Dallas Cowboys in March, but it would still be a surprise if Elliott isn’t in an NFL running back rotation this season. While his performance has declined over the last few years, he still ran for 876 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2022 and is more than capable of being a strong complement to Dobbins on the All-Buckeye squad.

Sermon hasn’t seen much action in his first two NFL seasons, but he gets the nod for the No. 3 running back spot on the All-Buckeye squad over Master Teague, who is currently on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ roster but has not played in any regular-season games.

WR: Terry McLaurin, Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, Michael Thomas, Curtis Samuel, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Noah Brown

Ohio State’s claim to WRU just keeps getting stronger. With McLaurin, Wilson and Olave, Ohio State was the only school to have three NFL receivers top the 1,000-yard mark in 2022 – and all of them did while playing with unstable quarterback situations a year ago.

Thomas, Samuel and Smith-Njigba would be a great starting trio of NFL receivers in its own right, yet they make up the second string for this year’s All-Buckeye team.

Ohio State’s contingent of NFL receivers has gotten so deep that there’s no room on the roster for Parris Campbell even after his career year of 63 catches for 623 yards in 2022. While Campbell would get the nod for the final spot over Noah Brown based solely on receiving ability, Brown makes the cut based on his extensive experience on special teams, where he’d see nearly all of his playing time as the roster’s No. 7 wide receiver.

Garrett Wilson emerged as an NFL star in just one year, making Ohio State’s reputation for developing receivers even stronger. (Photo: Ken Blaze – USA TODAY Sports)

TE: Luke Farrell, Jeremy Ruckert, Nick Vannett

With Cade Stover choosing to stay at Ohio State for another year, tight end remains the weakest position on the All-Buckeye team’s offense. Farrell, Ruckert and Vannett combined to catch just 10 passes for 103 yards during the 2022 NFL season, and none of them are currently projected to be higher than third-string tight ends in the league this year, with Vannett currently unsigned despite playing in 11 combined regular-season and playoff games last year.

Ruckert, entering just his second year in the NFL, certainly has the potential to emerge as a bigger weapon for the New York Jets, but he’s stuck behind Tyler Conklin and C.J. Uzomah on the depth chart right now. Farrell has been effective as a blocker for the Jaguars, but his playing time is unlikely to increase after they drafted Penn State’s Brenton Strange in the second round of this year’s draft.

OT: Taylor Decker, Paris Johnson Jr., Nicholas Petit-Frere, Thayer Munford, Dawand Jones

With Decker locking down the left side as he has for the Detroit Lions ever since he was drafted in 2016, the All-Buckeye team upgrades at right tackle with the addition of Johnson. The first Ohio State offensive tackle since Decker to be a first-round pick, Johnson played left tackle at Ohio State and could potentially start his career at guard with the Arizona Cardinals but slots in at RT opposite Decker on the All-Buckeye squad.

Petit-Frere gives the All-Buckeye team another option at right tackle after starting 16 games there for the Tennessee Titans as a rookie, while Munford also made four starts at tackle as a rookie in 2022. NFL teams don’t usually carry five offensive tackles, but we’ll make an exception here to get Jones on the roster after his fourth-round draft selection.

RELATED How C.J. Stroud, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Paris Johnson Jr. and Ohio State’s Other 2023 NFL Draft Picks Fit With Their New Teams

G: Jonah Jackson, Andrew Norwell, Jamarco Jones

Jackson and Norwell give the All-Buckeye team a pair of guards who have either made a Pro Bowl (Jackson) or been a first-team All-Pro (Norwell) in their NFL careers. Norwell isn’t a lock to keep his starting job this year after a disappointing first season with the Washington Commanders – which could potentially give the All-Buckeye team reason to move Josh Myers, Johnson or Munford to guard – but he retains his starting job on the All-Buckeye team for now after starting 16 games in D.C. last year.

Jones gives the All-Buckeye team another offensive lineman with NFL starting experience at both guard and tackle, though he didn’t play at all in 2022 due to injury, leaving the All-Buckeye team looking a bit thinner at guard than it does at other offensive line positions. Wyatt Davis is currently with the New York Giants but could be added to the roster for additional guard depth, but he’s struggled to gain a foothold in the league, bouncing between three different NFL teams last season.

C: Corey Linsley, Josh Myers

Linsley continued to be one of the NFL’s best centers in 2022, giving the All-Buckeye squad a rock-solid anchor in the middle. Myers has also been solid in his first two seasons as the Green Bay Packers’ starting center, making Ohio State one of just five schools (along with Alabama, Arkansas, LSU and Wisconsin) projected to have two starting centers in the NFL this year.

Luke Wypler, Billy Price and Pat Elflein are three options to give the All-Buckeye team even more depth, but they all miss the cut here as Wypler will have to compete for a roster spot in Cleveland after falling to the sixth round of the draft while Elflein and Price are currently unsigned.

DE: Nick Bosa, Joey Bosa, Chase Young, Sam Hubbard, Jonathon Cooper, Zach Harrison

Nick Bosa was the best defensive player in the NFL last season, and the Bosa Brothers would immediately become the best defensive end duo in the league if they were paired up on the same team.

Young enters his fourth NFL season with a lot to prove after the Commanders opted not to pick up his fifth-year option, but he looked the part of a rising superstar in 2020 before suffering a season-ending ACL injury in 2021 that also sidelined him for most of 2022. He pairs with Hubbard, who continued to be a stalwart for the Cincinnati Bengals’ defensive line in 2022, to give the All-Buckeye team a loaded two-deep at DE.

Cooper has been a productive rotational edge rusher for the Denver Broncos in his first two NFL seasons and provides great depth for the All-Buckeye defense. Harrison, just selected in the third round of the draft by the Atlanta Falcons, gets the nod for the final defensive end spot over Tyquan Lewis and Tyreke Smith, who could also both be in NFL rotations this year but are coming off of season-ending injuries.

DT: Cameron Heyward, DaVon Hamilton, Dre'Mont Jones, Johnathan Hankins, Tommy Togiai

Led by Heyward coming off of his sixth consecutive Pro Bowl berth, the All-Buckeye team is almost as strong at defensive tackle as it is at defensive end.

Jones, fresh off of signing a three-year, $51 million deal with the Seattle Seahawks this offseason, gives the All-Buckeye team a deadly tandem of interior penetrators who can rotate at 3-technique in the base defense and play together on third downs. Hamilton, fresh off of signing a three-year, $34.5 million contract extension with the Jaguars, projects as the starting nose tackle in the base defense while Hankins giving the squad another rotational run-stuffer. 

Togiai hasn’t seen a ton of playing time in his first two seasons with the Cleveland Browns, but provides quality depth as the fifth defensive tackle on this depth chart.

LB: Jerome Baker, Pete Werner, Baron Browning, Raekwon McMillan, Malik Harrison

Baker and Werner have both established themselves as productive NFL starters, giving the All-Buckeye team a solid tandem of primary inside linebackers.

Browning transitioned to playing on the edge for the Broncos last season but stays with the linebackers on the All-Buckeye team due to the depth at defensive end. Either way, he’s a versatile chess piece who could be used as both a third linebacker and as an outside pass rusher.

McMillan and Harrison are effective rotational players for their NFL teams who would take on the same roles on this defense.

CB: Marshon Lattimore, Denzel Ward, Bradley Roby, Jeff Okudah, Eli Apple, Shaun Wade

Ward and Lattimore both battled injuries in 2022, but they’re two of the NFL’s three highest-paid cornerbacks for a reason. When fully healthy and at their best, both of them are No. 1 cornerbacks who can go toe-to-toe with the NFL’s best receivers, giving the All-Buckeye team a standout pair of starters on the outside of their secondary.

Roby has the most experience playing in the slot of any former Ohio State defensive back currently playing in the NFL, so he fits in as the All-Buckeye squad’s nickelback.

Okudah’s career hasn’t gone as expected so far, as evidenced by the Lions trading the 2020 No. 3 overall pick to the Falcons for a fifth-round pick this offseason, but he’s still poised to be a starter in Atlanta and would be a welcome top backup on any NFL roster. Apple has not yet been signed since hitting free agency in March, but he performed well enough as a starter for the Bengals for the last two years that he should land another NFL opportunity.

Kendall Sheffield, Shaun Wade and Cam Brown could all stake a claim to a sixth cornerback spot on the roster, but Wade gets the nod with his experience playing both outside and in the slot.

S: Vonn Bell, Malik Hooker, Jordan Fuller, Ronnie Hickman

Bell, who was a key leader in the Bengals’ secondary for the last three years before joining the Carolina Panthers in free agency, gives the All-Buckeye team a reliable playmaker at strong safety. Hooker is coming off a career year as the Cowboys’ starting free safety in which he looked more like the All-American he was at Ohio State than he ever had before in the NFL.

Fuller, who missed most of the 2022 season due to injury but is expected to return to a starting role for the Los Angeles Rams this year, gives the All-Buckeye team a strong top trio of safeties. There are no other veteran safeties currently on NFL rosters, though, opening the door for Hickman to make the All-Buckeye team as a backup safety even though he went undrafted.

Malik Hooker asserted himself as one of Ohio State’s top defensive backs in the NFL with a strong 2022 season. (Photo: Kevin Jairaj – USA TODAY Sports)

K: None

Ohio State didn’t have any kickers in the NFL last year and Noah Ruggles hasn’t been signed since going undrafted, leaving kicker as the only position that’s currently unrepresented by any Buckeyes in the league. Ruggles or Blake Haubeil would be the most logical options to handle kicking duties for the All-Buckeye team, but they don’t meet the selection criteria right now.

P: Cameron Johnston

Ohio State had two punters in the NFL last season, but the All-Buckeye team only needs one. While Drue Chrisman is set for a Buckeye vs. Wolverine battle this summer with former Michigan punter Brad Robbins after the Bengals selected him with a sixth-round pick, Johnston is set for his third season as the Texans’ punter after averaging 48.1 yards per punt (12th in the NFL and just one spot ahead of Chrisman) in 2022.

LS: Jake McQuaide

Like at punter, Ohio State has two NFL long snappers with McQuaide (Detroit Lions) and Liam McCullough (Atlanta Falcons) both expected to be among the 32 snappers in the league this fall. McQuaide gets the nod here based on longevity, as he’s entering his 13th year as an NFL long snapper, tying him with Heyward for the league’s longest-tenured Buckeye.

Practice Squad: RB Master Teague, WR Parris Campbell, WR C.J. Saunders, OT Isaiah Prince, G Wyatt Davis, C Luke Wypler, DE Tyquan Lewis, DE Tyreke Smith, DE Jalyn Holmes, DE Rashod Berry, DT Jerron Cage, CB Kendall Sheffield, CB Cam Brown, S Tanner McCalister, P Drue Chrisman, LS Liam McCullough

All of these players are currently on NFL rosters even though they didn’t make the cut for the 53-man All-Buckeye roster. 

Campbell is the clear star of the group as a potential starter for the Giants, while Lewis should return to the Colts’ defensive line rotation as long as he makes a full recovery from his torn patellar tendon. Their status as practice squadders on the All-Buckeye team is solely a reflection of how deep Ohio State’s NFL contingent is at their respective positions.

Aside from them and McCullough, the rest of these Buckeyes will enter training camp on the bubble of their respective NFL teams’ rosters. Nevertheless, the fact that Ohio State currently has enough players in the league to fill out both a 53-man roster and a full practice squad speaks to how much NFL talent the Buckeyes have produced in recent years.

(Note: Shaun Wade was added to the 53-man roster while Rashod Berry was added to the practice squad upon the author’s realization that the originally published roster included only 52 players.)