The 2026 NFL Draft kicks off tonight in Pittsburgh with the first round taking place. The other six rounds of the annual selection event will run over the next two days, and by the end of the event, over 250 college football players will know where their NFL careers will begin. A number of former Ohio State players won’t have to wait long to hear their name called, as five Buckeyes could be selected in the first round, with four possibly going within the first 10 picks.
Arvell Reese, Carnell Tate, Sonny Styles, and Caleb Downs are all being mocked as top-10 picks in this year’s draft, while Kayden McDonald has been projected to be selected near the end of the first round. Beyond those five former Buckeyes, there are other Ohio State players who could be sleepers as Friday or Saturday picks in this year’s draft. Davison Igbinosun, Max Klare, Caden Curry, and others could make the teams that draft them very happy because of the quality of players they are getting later in the draft.
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Today, we want to know which Buckeye in this year’s draft class would be your first choice. Maybe there is an Ohio State player who you think is above and beyond the best Buckeye available in the 2026 draft. Others might have a preferred player that they want their NFL team of choice to draft because the Buckeye would instantly fill a hole on their team. Browns fans have to hope Carnell Tate is available with the sixth pick, while Bengals fans were all about Cincinnati taking Caleb Downs before the team traded the 10th pick to the New York Giants for defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence.
Today’s question: Who is the first Ohio State player you’d select in the 2026 NFL Draft?
We’d love to hear your choices. Either respond to us on Twitter at @Landgrant33 or leave your choice in the comments.
Brett’s answer: Carnell Tate
If you’re new to LGHL and the internet, you might not know I grew up south of Buffalo, which means I am a Buffalo Bills fan. Over the last few years, the Bills have tried to go with the approach of the Kansas City Chiefs, where one of the best quarterbacks in football has a strange collection of receivers to work with. Buffalo did try to upgrade their receiving corps during the offseason by trading for D.J. Moore, but in my opinion, Josh Allen still needs a true No. 1 receiver.
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Since the Bills have the 26th pick in this year’s draft, I’m fully aware that Tate will be long gone before Buffalo is on the clock. Even if Tate was still somehow available when it was the Bills’ turn to pick, Buffalo’s front office would probably end up trading down anyway since general manager Brandon Beane is a dope. Why would Josh Allen want to be paired with the best wide receiver in this year’s draft? The move would make too much sense!
If I were a general manager in the NFL, I would want Carnell Tate as one of the pieces on offense that I would want to build around. Tate wasn’t even the top option in the Ohio State passing attack over the last two years, yet he still put up big numbers when he was healthy. I’m interested to see what Tate can do when he is the best receiver on a team. With the recent track record of Ohio State wide receivers in the NFL, I’m confident Tate can make the leap to being the primary option after sharing the spotlight with Jeremiah Smith the last couple of seasons.
Don’t get me wrong, I think Caleb Downs is a generational talent at safety, and Sonny Styles could be the next Brian Urlacher. I have just seen Ohio State receivers over the last decade go to other teams in the NFL, and I wanted so badly for my team to have one, since after spending time in Columbus, those receivers are ready to step in and contribute immediately. In the end, it’s hard to go wrong with any of the five Ohio State players who are projected to go in the first round on Thursday night.
Matt’s answer: Caleb Downs
Unlike Brett, I have no particular NFL rooting interest, so my pick is purely based on who I think is going to make their team better. There is a reason that the former Buckeye safety was widely considered the best defensive player in all of college football for the past two seasons, despite never putting up gaudy numbers.
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Now, I understand that the traditional logic is that it is harder for a safety to make a dramatic impact on a football game than it is for a quarterback, defensive end, wide receiver, lineman (on either side of the ball), running back, linebacker, or even a cornerback, simply because they are farther away from the football in most cases.
In a physical sport that is routinely discussed in terms of old-school trench warfare, proximity to the ball is often imperative to having an impact. Of course, Buckeye fans saw that just because Downs was the best safety in the game didn’t mean that he wasn’t playing near the ball. Matt Patricia — and to a lesser degree, Jim Knowles before him — moved Caleb around to nearly every imaginable spot on the field, allowing him to use his athletic ability and football intellect to make plays.
But what was so special about the way that they did this is that Downs wasn’t just thrown out onto the field and expected to improvise while his 10 teammates were holding down the defensive scheme. Thanks to his unique skillset, Caleb is able to legitimately slot in and play what is essentially a traditional linebacker, corner, or even edge rusher spot.
While I hate to ever give attention to anything either Nick Saban or Pat McAfee is involved in, the former Alabama coach recruited Downs to Tuscaloosa, and it was his retirement that brought the safety to Columbus. So, he knows what type of player — and human — Caleb is better than most people in the football world.
I get that some people have harped on Downs because his measureables are those of Sonny Styles. I get that his stats aren’t what you would think of when discussing “the best defensive player in the sport.” But watch his tape. Caleb Downs is so smart and efficient that he makes the extraordinary look routine. So while you might watch a play and say, “The guy just ran right into Caleb Downs,” what you should actually say is, “Holy shit, did you see how Caleb Downs read that play perfectly presnap and adjusted to be in the perfect spot to make the play?”
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That’s the kind of player I want on my football team, even if I don’t really care about the NFL.
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