The Ohio State Buckeyes' Top-5 Third Day Draft Picks Since 2010

The third day of every NFL Draft since 2010 has become quite a filter. Only the true die-hards ride the whole thing out on a day when even large portions of the media covering the whole event are already on their way home.

Yet, these last four rounds are known to produce noteworthy talent, even if not everyone is looking.

Here are the Top-5 prospects picked up on the last day of the NFL Draft since 2010, when the league turned it into a three-day event:

Corey Linsley, center, Green Bay Packers, fifth round 2014

Green Bay took a flier on Linsley with the 161st overall pick, and he didn’t disappoint. Linsley became a full-time starter right away, and kept working on his craft until he reached first-team All-Pro status by his seventh season, in 2020.

Linsley’s timing couldn’t have been any better as he hit free agency that offseason, becoming the NFL’s highest paid center at the time thanks to a five-year $62.5 million deal with the Chargers. He responded with his first Pro Bowl nod and a second-team All-Pro mention that year.

Unfortunately, he was forced to retire in 2024 due to a medical condition after a career spanning 132 games, all starts, over a decade in the NFL..

Kurt Coleman, safety, Philadelphia Eagles, seventh round 2010

Philly found a keeper with the 244th overall pick in 2010, an opportunistic addition considering that then free agent Marlin Jackson -- in the process of being converted to safety -- tore his Achilles during minicamp before the season.

Coleman would become a full-time starter by his second season with the Eagles, before being demoted to the bench with Chip Kelly’s arrival in 2013.

His career took off again by 2015, his first season in Carolina, when he was voted to the Pro Bowl as an alternate. He ended up playing 146 games including 83 starts over 10 NFL seasons.

Jonathon Cooper, linebacker, Denver Broncos, seventh round 2021

Cooper wasn’t even the first Ohio State pass rusher selected by Denver in 2021 -- the Broncos had picked up outside linebacker Baron Browning in Round 3.

Cooper played backup to Browning for a while before securing a full-time starting gig, right when Nik Bonitto started coming into his own, leaving Browning as the odd man out by 2024.

Over the last three years, Cooper has started all 51 possible regular season games for the Broncos, racking up at least eight sacks in each of those seasons and registering his first double-digit sack campaign in 2024 (10.5).

He signed a four-year $60 million contract extension with Denver in ‘24.

Jordan Fuller, safety, Los Angeles Rams, sixth round 2020

Another safety who waited a long time to be drafted but not too long to become an NFL starter, Fuller was already first-teamer as a rookie. He crossed the 100-tackle mark in his sophomore season, and started 17 games for the Rams in ‘23 after just three appearances the year before due to a hamstring injury.

Another hamstring issue cut his 2024 campaign short in Carolina, while a knee problem limited him to just six games, one start, last year in Atlanta. He’s currently a free agent.

John Simon, defensive end, Baltimore Ravens, fourth round 2013

Simon spent only one year with the team that drafted him, but he managed to survive nine years in the league based on resiliency, playing for six different franchises.

His best moments came between the 2019 and 2020 seasons in New England, when he started 30 of 43 possible regular season games and won Super Bowl LIII.

Honorable mention: Andrew Norwell, guard, undrafted 2014

Norwell wasn’t drafted, but his career can easily match any one of those mentioned above. After becoming a star for the Panthers, where he was voted first-team All-Pro in 2017, his fourth season with the team, making him one of the hottest names in the subsequent free agency period.

Jacksonville then made him the highest paid guard in league history with a five-year, $66.5 million deal. After four seasons with the Jags, he signed a two-year contract in Washington, but only played one season with the team before being cut with an elbow injury.

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