We use some numbers from past drafts to set the table for what we could see from Ohio State in this year’s NFL Draft.
This evening the 2025 NFL Draft kicks off in Green Bay. Over the next three days, over 250 players will find out where their professional careers will begin. The first round of the NFL Draft will take place tonight, the second and third rounds will be held on Friday, and the draft will wrap up on Saturday with rounds four through seven.
There figures to be plenty of Ohio State influence on this year’s draft considering how many Buckeyes could be selected. Over the years, Ohio State has been one of the top schools at producing NFL talent. There are some interesting numbers that illustrate just how many Buckeyes have been drafted, especially recently.
To help pass some time before the festivities kick off in Green Bay this evening, we put together some interesting Ohio State draft numbers to know, along with which Buckeyes could hear their name called earlier in the draft.
512
Since Gomer Jones was taken with the 15th pick in the second round by the Chicago Cardinals in 1936, Ohio State has had 511 other players selected in the NFL Draft. Currently, the last Buckeye drafted was linebacker Tommy Eichenberg by the Las Vegas Raiders in the fifth round of last year’s draft.
The total ranks third among colleges. Notre Dame enters this year’s draft with 569 players selected, and USC sits second all-time with 557 players drafted.
91
Ohio State has seen 91 of their players selected in the first round over the years, which is the most by one school. The Buckeyes had one player selected in the first round last year, as Marvin Harrison Jr. was taken with the fourth overall selection by the Arizona Cardinals.
Since 2016, Ohio State has seen at least one of their players drafted in the first round in seven drafts.
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9
At least one Buckeye has been selected in the first round in each of the last nine drafts. The last time an Ohio State player wasn’t selected in the first round of the NFL Draft was 2015 when Devin Smith was the first Buckeye selected when the New York Jets took him in the second round.
By comparison, there have been two drafts since 2006 where Ohio State saw five players selected in the first round. Those occurrences came in 2006 and 2016. The nine straight years with a first round pick is currently second to Alabama, who has had a player drafted in the first round in 16 straight years.
36
Over the last five years, Ohio State is averaging more than eight players drafted per year, as 36 Buckeyes have been selected. The total ranks fifth in the country. Georgia leads the country with 49 players drafted over the last five years, Alabama has had 46 players selected, Michigan is third with 45 players drafted, and LSU has seen 43 Tigers selected during that span.
2020 and 2021 saw 10 Ohio State players drafted each year, followed by six in 2022 and 2023, and last year there were four Buckeyes selected.
14
For quite a while Ohio State held the record for most players selected in one draft when they saw 14 Buckeyes drafted in 2006. LSU tied the record when they had 14 players drafted in 2022, and two years later Georgia broke the record when 15 Bulldogs were drafted in 2022.
Last year Michigan came close to equaling Ohio State’s school record when 13 Wolverines heard their name called in the draft. The Buckeyes also had 12 players taken in the 2016 NFL Draft.
15
Ohio State could see as many as 15 players drafted this year, which would tie Georgia for the most players taken in one draft. 15 Buckeyes were invited to the NFL Draft Combine, which allowed teams to get a closer look at a lot of the school’s prospects. While we aren’t going to touch on every Ohio State player that might be drafted this weekend, we are going to touch briefly on a few of the names you could hear early on.
Josh Simmons
The offensive tackle who started his career at San Diego State suffered a devastating end to his Ohio State career when he suffered a season-ending knee injury in the 32-31 loss at Oregon back in October. The injury came as Simmons’ draft stock was rising with each game the Buckeyes played in the 2024 season.
Indications are that Simmons will be selected later in the first round, with a common landing spot in mock drafts being at the 31st pick to the Kansas City Chiefs.
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Donovan Jackson
Jackson’s name has been picking up steam over the last few weeks. Teams are impressed with Jackson’s versatility after he moved from guard to tackle following the season-ending injury to Simmons. Because Jackson has shown he can be successful at multiple positions on the offensive line, the monster from Texas has become a popular pick at 28 for the Detroit Lions, which would see him join former Buckeye Taylor Decker on Detroit’s offensive line.
TreVeyon Henderson
When it comes to Buckeyes in the draft, the wild card is TreVeyon Henderson. This year there seems to be an upswing in running back value, especially with Ashton Jeanty and Omarion Hampton expected to be selected in the first round. If Jeanty and Hampton are off the board when the Denver Broncos are on the clock with the 20th pick, Henderson could be targeted by the Broncos, who need to upgrade their running back position now that they have a quarterback in place after taking Bo Nix in the first round last year.
Emeka Egbuka
The Ohio State player who seems like he’ll be a sure thing in the NFL is wide receiver Emeka Egbuka. The problem for Egbuka is he was so steady throughout his career in Columbus that he didn’t really wow teams like teammates Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Marvin Harrison Jr., and Jeremiah Smith have.
Egbuka isn’t going to be the top receiver on a team but he is going to be a very valuable number two receiver for whoever scoops him up. If a team doesn’t trade back into the bottom of the first round to take Egbuka on Thursday, expect him to hear his name called early in Friday’s proceedings.