Buckeyes Top 2024 NFL Draft Boards With 5 First-Round Projections
The Ohio State Buckeyes had six players selected in all of this year's NFL draft, but they could have five taken in next year's first round alone.
ESPN's Matt Miller projected five Buckeyes will go in the opening round of the 2024 NFL Draft Thursday, which would tie with 2006 and 2016 for the most Ohio State players taken in the first round. Miller projects Ohio State will have the most first-round selections of any school in the 2024 draft.
Miller has Marvin Harrison Jr. being taken No. 2 overall by the Arizona Cardinals, J.T Tuimoloau and Emeka Egbuka going Nos. 10 and 11 both to the Chicago Bears, Jack Sawyer heading to Seattle at No. 19 and Mike Hall Jr. rounding out the Buckeyes' first-round prevalence at No. 26 to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
"Harrison is 6-4, shows savvy and smooth route running, and is excellent at track and attacking the ball," Miller wrote. "He'd be the Cardinals' No. 1 receiver from the second he puts on a jersey, and the trio of (Caleb) Williams, Harrison and 2023 first-round tackle Paris Johnson Jr. would give Arizona solid young players at the three most important offensive positions."
Miller projects a pair of Washington-native Buckeyes will be heading to the Windy City to team up with Justin Fields.
An NFC area scout called Tuimoloau the Buckeyes' "most-talented defensive end" since Chase Young, Miller wrote. As for the evaluation of Egbuka, Miller reported that an AFC area scout said he will be "good, not great, but he will be a really good NFL wide receiver because he does all the little things right and will only get better with time."
Miller has Sawyer heading to Seattle due to his "solid upper-body power and the short-area burst to excel in space." Sawyer played defensive coordinator Jim Knowles' JACK position last season, but is moving to a full-time defensive end position in 2023, looking to improve on his 4.5 sacks, which was tied for the most on the Buckeyes in 2022.
The man Sawyer was tied with for the sacks lead was Hall, who Miller has going to Jacksonville. Hall was limited to just 266 snaps last season battling injuries.
"The 6-2, 284-pounder can fill a pass-rush role early in his career as he develops into a full-time player," Miller wrote. "Put together tape that shows great pad leverage, the skills to shed blockers with his hands and an ability to anchor in the run game."
The Buckeyes' current focus is on getting back to the College Football Playoff, and with the NFL-talent-laden roster they have, this might be their best year to capture their first national championship since 2014. After the season, expect a mass exodus of players ready to embark on their NFL careers.
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