The 2026 NFL Draft kicks off tonight from Pittsburgh with the first round of the annual selection event. Friday will feature the second and third rounds, followed by rounds four through seven on Saturday.
While all indications point to the Las Vegas Raiders selecting Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the first overall pick, Ohio State will likely dominate the rest of the first 10 picks of this year’s draft.
The history of Ohio State players being selected in the NFL Draft has been prolific. There aren’t many schools who can challenge the numbers the Buckeye football program has put up when it comes to seeing players drafted.
Before the picks are announced tonight by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, we are going to dive into some of the impressive numbers associated with Ohio State when it comes to players who spent their college years clad in scarlet and gray being drafted.
Following a national championship season, Ohio State saw 14 players drafted in the 2025 NFL Draft, which tied their 2004 draft class for the most selections in a draft in school history. The only school with more players selected in one draft was Georgia, who saw 15 of their players drafted in 2022.
LSU’s 2020 draft class is the only other program who has had at least 14 players selected in a draft.
This is another win Ohio State holds over Michigan, as the most Wolverines picked in one year came in 2024 when 13 of their players were drafted.
Over the last 10 years, Ohio State has had at least 10 players selected three times. 10 Buckeyes were drafted in both 2020 and 2021, while 12 Ohio State players were picked in 2016.
Of the four times in school history where at least 10 Buckeyes were selected in a single draft, the only year that fell outside of the last 10 years was back in 2004 when 14 Ohio State players were drafted.
The number four has multiple areas of importance when it comes to Ohio State and the NFL Draft. This year we could see four Buckeyes drafted within the first 10 picks of the draft, which would make Ohio State the first program since Michigan State in 1967 to have four players taken in the top-10 of a single draft.
Last year’s NFL Draft saw a first for Ohio State, as it was the first time the Buckeyes had four defensive lineman taken in one draft. After Tyleik Williams was picked by the Detroit Lions in the first round, J.T. Tuimoloau came off the board in the second round, followed by Jack Sawyer in the fourth round, and Ty Hamilton in the fifth round.
Since Sonny Styles is a lock to be drafted in this year’s draft, it will be the fourth father-son combination of Buckeyes to be selected. The first was Hopalong Cassady and his son Craig Cassady, followed by Ron and Shawn Springs, and finally Tim and Evan Spencer.
If Lorenzo Styles Jr. is picked, it will be the first Buckeye football alum to be drafted and then go on to see two of his sons selected.
Looking towards next year, four is the number of Jeremiah Smith, who undoubtedly will be a first round pick and the first wide receiver drafted if he opts to enter the NFL Draft, and he very well could be the first player selected overall in 2027.
For the third time this century Ohio State is primed to see five players drafted in the first round. The first occurrence was in 2006, then again in 2016. The Buckeyes must be on a 10-year plan when it comes to getting five first round picks in one draft since it could happen again in 2026.
While Arvell Reese, Caleb Downs, Sonny Styles, and Carnell Tate are being talked about as top-10 picks, Kayden McDonald is being mocked as a draft pick later in the first round.
If five Buckeyes are drafted in the first round this year, it would give Ohio State 10 players drafted in the first round over the past three drafts.
When Carnell Tate is drafted in the first round of this year’s draft it will mark five straight drafts where Ohio State has had at least one wide receiver picked in the first round. The streak should extend to six straight next year if Jeremiah Smith ends up declaring for the 2027 NFL Draft.
Along with Ohio State possibly seeing five players drafted in the first round for the third time since 2006, if five are drafted in the first round this year it will mean 100 Buckeyes have been drafted in the first round all-time.
No program has had more players selected in the first round than Ohio State. Second-most is USC with 86 all-time first round picks. Alabama is the only other program with more than 80 first round picks.