Will Ohio State Have Four Top-10 Picks in the 2026 NFL Draft?
If you've perused any NFL mock drafts this offseason, you'll see a familiar theme in the first half of many of them: There are a handful of Ohio State Buckeyes and that is no mistake, according to NFL Network lead draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah. In the latest episode of "The Joel Klatt Show," Jeremiah put Ohio State's recent run of producing top NFL prospects in historical perspective, saying only one other program might have had a comparable stretch. "The only one I can compare it to is the Miami run in the early 2000s. That was a period where, almost every year, we were seeing four first-round guys and then running that depth all the way through," Jeremiah said. "But it's not only that [Ohio State] has dudes but these guys are having success at the NFL level, too. It's not like it's some overhyped group or a program that's living off their reputation. These guys are getting drafted high, and rightfully so. They're playing really well at the next level." To Jeremiahs point, nearly all 10 Buckeyes selected in the first round over the last four drafts have found success at the NFL level. Wide receiver Garrett Wilson won Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2022, while Jaxon Smith-Njigba won Offensive Player of the Year this past season. Quarterback C.J. Stroud had one of the best rookie seasons ever for a quarterback in 2023 and has led the Houston Texans in all three seasons he's been with the team. In the 2026 draft, Ohio State will almost certainly add four more players to its ever-growing list of the most first-round picks produced by a program. Edge rusher Arvell Reese, wide receiver Carnell Tate, linebacker Sonny Styles and safety Caleb Downs are not only apparent locks to go in the first round, but all four might also be top-10 picks. FOX Sports lead college football analyst Joel Klatt pointed to Tate as the reason why Ohio State's 2026 draft class has the potential to be historic. "Carnell Tate wasn't even the best receiver on his own team in college and is likely going to be the No. 1 wide receiver taken in this draft," Klatt said. "All of us, me included, and I'm sure you as well, believe that because he's from that lineage and he showed what he did at the college level, he's likely to have a lot of success and be in the top 10 in this draft." While Tate might have been outshined by Jeremiah Smith at wide receiver during his Ohio State tenure, he still had a productive career in Columbus. He logged over 1,500 receiving yards and had 13 receiving touchdowns in his last two seasons, putting up some of those numbers while also playing alongside Tampa Bay Buccaneers standout Emeka Egbuka. Tate, who Klatt has going to the New York Giants at No. 5 in his most recent mock draft, has a chance to become the sixth Ohio State wide receiver to be selected in the first round in five drafts. But can Ohio State's draft class make history? Michigan State was the last program to have four top-10 picks in the same year, doing so in 1967. Reese has been a top-five pick in just about every mock draft, while Tate has been a top-10 pick in the majority of mock drafts, too. Styles and Downs, on the other hand, play positions that typically don't receive top-10 value and seem like toss-ups to be selected in the top 10. Jeremiah made a strong case for both players to be top-10 picks, pointing to two teams picking in the top five (Tennessee Titans and Giants) who should be willing to draft Styles. "If you are [Titans head coach Robert] Saleh and you've seen and coached [San Francisco 49ers linebacker] Fred Warner and know what Fred Warner can do in that scheme and how impactful he can be with what he does, you should have no problem taking him with the fourth overall pick," Jeremiah said. "If you're the New York Giants and you're looking at Sonny Styles, the future of [the NFC East] is Jayden Daniels. How do you defeat Jayden Daniels? I like to have guys at the second level that can get to him on the perimeter when he decides to go, and then also have the length and range when they try to go RPO and go in the middle of the field. We can clog all of that with all of our size, length and athleticism. He's the perfect player to try and defend someone like that. "Having a player at that level who can do all that stuff and handle all the communication on top of it I can make a very strong argument for [Styles] in those places." As for Downs, Jeremiah didn't seem as sure that the All-American safety will be a top-10 pick, but he thinks the Cincinnati Bengals could be a good fit for him at No. 10. "When you get to Downs, I tell everybody it's not a lock that he's going to go top 10," Jeremiah said. "We live in a world where Derwin James somehow didn't go in the top 10 or Kyle Hamilton didn't go in the top 10 and we just saw [Nick] Emmanwori go in the second round. In terms of how high he goes, it's a little more difficult to project. "But, when I'm looking at specific teams, and I'm looking at Cincinnati and where they are as a team and I'm thinking, OK, this is the worst rush defense in the NFL. Then, you say, Why the heck are they taking a safety. I think he can impact the run defense as much as he does the passing game. I think he's that impactful." What could also hurt Downs' case to be a top-10 pick is the relative depth at safety in this draft class. Oregon's Dillon Thieneman and Toledo's Emmanuel McNeil-Warren are also potential first-round picks. But Klatt believes that Downs is at least an echelon above those two players. "His margin [in the pass game] against those guys is kind of like, OK, I like his instincts a bit more," Klatt said of Downs. "But then you put their cut-ups against one another and even other safeties against the league, in terms of instincts against the run, playing low and playing in that joker position they had him playing in a lot he plays like another linebacker, even at his size. The margin he has above those players when it comes to run fits and instinct in the run game grows, at least in my estimation."
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