We’re two days away from the NFL draft.
Personally, I’m a big NFL draft guy because as someone who loves college football as much as I do, I’ve always viewed the draft as graduation day of sorts for the players who have entertained us on Saturdays for the past three to four years (though now it’s also maybe five or six factoring in COVID seasons).
Since you probably haven’t read enough of these types of pieces by now, we’re having some fun and calling our shot two days ahead of the NFL draft. I took my stab at making six predictions regarding Ohio State players, with varying degrees of boldness. After that, I threw in two non-Ohio State-related draft takes for the hell of it.
Sure enough, most of these predictions probably suck and are most likely wrong, so we can all laugh at me and tell me not to quit my day job to be an NFL analyst on Saturday night. But the good news is, you have your chance to make your own Ohio State draft predictions too, and could even win a nice prize.
Bold
TreVeyon Henderson is the first Buckeye drafted
Unlike previous drafts, there isn’t a consensus among draft analysts of which Ohio State player is the overwhelming favorite to be drafted first. Depending on who you ask, some say it’s Emeka Egbuka, some prefer Josh Simmons, and there’s occasional Donovan Jackson love mixed in there, too.
I’m taking a different approach and predicting the first Buckeye selected Thursday night will be running back TreVeyon Henderson. Henderson’s playmaking ability is universally loved by NFL personnel and will make him a hot commodity on draft night, with the former Ohio State standout getting more and more first-round buzz.
So, where exactly does this align with Henderson being picked? I’ll guess the running back hungry Denver Broncos choose Henderson at No. 20, slightly ahead of Egbuka, who should be off the board somewhere between picks No. 21 and No. 29.
Josh Simmons slips to the early second round
When covering recruiting, we hold firm to a staunch policy: Study their actions, not what they say. We’re applying that method here.
Simmons was originally scheduled to attend the draft on Thursday night in Green Bay, but later opted not to attend for an unknown reason. Reading between the lines, it’s possible that Simmons’ agent told him it’s not a surefire bet that he’s taken in the first round, and nobody wants to be the lonely Will Levis in the green room as teams keep picking other players.
Simmons is undoubtedly a first-round talent on paper and plays a premium position, but some teams may be scared off by the injury and small sample size of elite reps on film.
There’s also the possibility that teams go quarterback crazy and make trades to get into the late first round to secure a quarterback, which could push more tackle-needy teams into the second. As such, I predict Simmons has to wait until Friday to hear his name called, but it will be a short wait once the second round gets underway and he'll still be on pace to have a productive NFL career.
A little hot but reasonable
Will Howard gets taken in the third round
NFL scouts seem to be very split on Howard. Some view Ohio State’s championship-winning quarterback as a leader of men type with the potential to develop into a solid pro, while others view him as a modest prospect, where what you see is what you get. But as they say, all it takes is one team to fall in love.
I’m predicting that one team is infatuated with Howard’s charisma and proven production in the four-game College Football Playoff stretch and takes him a little higher than he’s projected in the third round, with hopes of him developing into a solid starting option or at worst a very capable backup.
Ty Hamilton goes earlier than expected
Throughout most of the NFL Draft process, Hamilton has been viewed as someone likely to be taken around the fifth round. Following how well he tested, I’m projecting he’ll beat that moniker and be taken ahead of the fifth round.
Teams would love plugging Hamilton in and knowing they have a staunch NFL-ready run defender, and I could see a team valuing that in the third or fourth round.
Milquetoast
Ohio State ties Georgia for the most players selected in a single draft
Yeah, pretty much every seven-round mock draft has 15 Ohio State players hearing their names called in the three-day draft, which would tie Georgia for the most players drafted in one year. Nothing earth-shattering, but it’s likely going to happen!
Emeka Egbuka is a first-round pick
Yeah, again, really easy to “go out on a limb” and predict the same thing many others have. But Egbuka’s demeanor and production from the slot are going to make one NFL team fall in love with him and take him in the late first round. He reminds me so much of Jaxon Smith-Njigba and could have a similar career trajectory.
Non-Ohio State predictions
Shedeur Sanders falls out of the top 10
Sanders may already have his number retired at Colorado (for…reasons?), but I’m not convinced NFL scouts are sold on his ability to thrive at the next level. Perhaps the recent Sanders talking points that could see him falling all the way to the Steelers at pick No. 21 are all a smokescreen, and we’ve seen NFL teams try to slander quarterbacks through the pre-draft process before to make them fall (cough, cough, C.J. Stroud).
But unless the Giants or Saints take him, it’s unlikely Sanders hears his name called within the top 10. And while he’s still likely to be taken in the first round, the amount of sacks he’s taken (poor offensive line or not) and lack of production against elite competition may catch up with him on Thursday.
Someone drafts Tyler Shough way too high
Every NFL draft cycle there’s a storyline that makes no damn sense. For me, it’s easily how much love Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough is receiving from draft analysts. Shough is projected to be picked anywhere from the late first round through the second round, and taking him anywhere in that range seems like a giant mistake to me.
Look, nothing against Shough, he’s a fine college player and had a nice senior season at Louisville, throwing for 3,195 yards and 23 touchdowns to six interceptions. But the guy played college football for six seasons and has produced exactly one effective year. Gambling on him on day three, so be it. Using a day two or dare I say day one pick on him? Blasphemy.
To make matters worse, he’s 25 years old and will be 26 a few weeks into the NFL season. That makes him older than Stroud, Brock Purdy, Trevor Lawrence, Anthony Richardson and every NFL rookie QB that was taken in the first round last year.
I thought the NFL learned its lesson about quarterbacks with this archetype after Brandon Weeden, but apparently not.
