Ohio State's Kayden McDonald Finds New NFL Home During 2026 NFL Draft

Ohio State defensive tackle Kayden McDonal became the fifth former Buckeye selected during the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, which continued Friday night in front of a national audience.

As several outside NFL draft projections correctly predicted, McDonald was an early second-round pick, selected with the 36th overall pick by the Houston Texans.

For McDonald, he'll get to play in the AFC and will get to play against one of his former teammates and just missed out on a reunion.

“You know, Jordan Hancock, my high school teammate, we played together at Ohio State," McDonald said during NFL's Play Football Clinic. "So that would be awesome to play with him. And, like I said, I’d come in with Deone Walker and all those guys and go to work.”

McDonald's career at Ohio State, in so many words, taught him a great deal about what it meant to take that leap of faith and go to the next level.

“It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience," McDonald said. "It's a blessing."

McDonald said he doesn't want to just be remembered as a football player. He wants to be remembered as someone who people can recognize from the outside and say that he's doing good things for society on and off the field.

“All those kids looking up to me, it’s just a surreal feeling,” McDonald said. “Time goes by, and you can't get that back. So I'm just really thankful where I'm at right now.”

McDonald's former coach, Ryan Day, recalled to Eleven Warriors the moment he knew that he had a chance to be a star at Ohio State.

“It started a couple years before with some of those goal-line stands,” Day said of McDonald. “You think about in ‘24, the Nebraska game and some of those games where he was lined up on that center and just knocking people back. And then it just really carried over into this year and what he did.”

McDonald sent a message to those considering Ohio State, or guys who were even considering going to the NFL and deciding to end their playing careers at Ohio State that it certainly is a smart decision to make.

“You're going to get developed, and the best players come here," McDonald said. "Next year is going to be even more crazier with all the guys coming out. It just doesn't ever stop. We just keep reloading. It's been an exciting journey for me.”

For now, the pipeline continues at full force with no signs of a decline

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