Buckeyes Well Represented in Mel Kiper's ESPN NFL Mock Draft
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A champion has been crowned, the season is over, and preparations are being made for the next Ohio State Buckeyes attempt at the College Football Playoff.
That means players are moving either through graduation, the NFL Draft, or the transfer portal, and Ohio State is no exception.
Those who shined on the college football stage are preparing themselves for April’s NFL Draft, and the Buckeyes will have no shortage of players who NFL teams will seek out to help them take that next step.
In draft guru Mel Kiper’s latest mock draft, he has no less than three Ohio State Buckeyes players being taken in the first round.
C.J. Stroud, Quarterback - No. 2 overall pick | Houston Texans
“Houston just fired coach Lovie Smith, and the franchise’s clear offseason priority has to be upgrading at the quarterback position. Davis Mills really struggled in his second season as the Texans’ offense was among the league’s worst in several statistical categories. With two top-12 picks in this draft, they have to get quality starters as they continue their rebuild.
“I see Stroud as the best fit here as the Texans could get their pick of the top passers. He’s extremely accurate, can make every throw and has excellent touch at every level of the field. I usually don’t put much stock into a single game evaluation, but Stroud’s performance in the narrow loss to Georgia in the College Football Playoff semifinals showed me something.
Paris Johnson Jr., Offensive Tackle - No. 11 overall pick | Tennessee Titans
“The Tennessee offense was a mess this season, which resulted in the firing of coordinator Todd Downing. General manager Jon Robinson also was let go, and you have to think Robinson’s inability to get the offensive line up to par contributed to it.
"Longtime left tackle Taylor Lewan has played just 20 games over the past three seasons and could be an offseason cap casualty. There might be an opening on the left side. Johnson played guard for the Buckeyes in 2021 but moved to left tackle in 2022, and he was tremendous. He will be a plug-and-play starter in the top 15 picks.”
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Wide Receiver - No. 13 overall pick | New York Jets
“I thought about an offensive lineman here, but let’s instead reunite my top-ranked receiver in this class with my top-ranked receiver in the 2022 class. The Jets picked Garrett Wilson at No. 10 last April, and he had 83 catches for 1,103 yards as a rookie.
"But in 2021, his teammate Smith-Njigba was the Buckeyes’ top wideout, as he put up 1,606 yards, doing damage mostly out of the slot. After an injury-plagued 2022 in which he caught just five passes, however, there are big questions about his health — he had a nagging hamstring injury — headed into the draft.
With players like Stroud, Johnson Jr., and Smith-Njigba departing, Ryan Day and Co. will have their hands full replacing them.
But with the No. 4 2023 recruiting class on hand per On3, there should be no drop-off in play on the field.
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