11W Mailbag: Tackling your questions on the NFL Draft. Before we get started, here is a question for you. Since 1967, from what position has Ohio State produced more NFL Draft picks than any other school? The answer is at the bottom of the article.
Thank you to everybody who asked a question, without them this piece is not possible.
What team has drafted the fewest Buckeyes? - Unknownmusketeer
The Jacksonville Jaguars have participated in the NFL Draft since 1995. Over those 21 drafts DT Michael Bennett (2015) is the only Ohio State player to get selected by the Jaguars. Is there any question why Jacksonville has been a bottom feeder in the league?
Which team has drafted the most Buckeyes? - SFlaBuckeye13
The Browns have the most with 32. The Bears are a close second at 30. However, the city of Chicago (Bears and Cardinals) and the city of Cleveland (Browns and Rams) are tied with 38 drafted Buckeyes.
Prediction of how many Buckeyes drafted by the end of the 2nd round? - OSU069
My guess is 8. Joey Bosa, Ezekiel Elliott, Taylor Decker, Darron Lee, Eli Apple, Vonn Bell, Michael Thomas, Braxton Miller or Joshua Perry.
Cardale Jones, Nick Vannett and Adolphus Washington could also get the call in round 2.
Which team has done better in the NFL Draft: OSU or TTUN? ...Using any metric of "win" (highest avg draft pick, or total first rounders, etc). - Aznchipmunk
Aznchipmunk, I don't have much data on that other team and don't want to research that cesspool of a program too much. Hopefully this first round information will make you happy.
| OHIO STATE | CATEGORY | MICHIGAN |
|---|---|---|
| 69 | 1ST ROUND PICKS | 40 |
| 3 | OVERALL NO. 1 PICKS | 2 |
| 5 | 1st ROUND PICKS IN A DRAFT | 3 |
| 7 | CONSECUTIVE YEARS | 6 |
| 1938 | FIRST 1ST ROUND PICK | 1941 |
Some more trivial matter.
- Since 1991 Ohio State has had 34 first round picks. Michigan has only had 19.
- The most players Michigan has had selected in the first round is three. That occurred twice (2001 and 1995).
- Ohio State has had five players drafted in one year (2006). However, the Buckeyes also had four players picked in 1971.
- Six times the Buckeyes had three players selected in the first round. Those years were 2004, 1999, 1996, 1995, 1975, 1974.
- Ohio State's seven consecutive years with a first round pick were between 1991 and 1997. Michigan was 1991-1996.
- Michigan's No. 1 overall picks are Tommy Harmon (1941) and Jake Long (2008) The Bears took Harmon and Long went to the Dolphins.
How many undrafted Buckeyes are currently playing in the NFL? - MN Buckeye
As of September 2015 there are seven Buckeyes in the NFL who were not drafted. They are:
Travis Howard (ATL)
Corey "Philly" Brown (CAR)
Andrew Norwell (CAR)
Jake McQuaide (LA Rams)
Jake Stoneburner (MIA)
Michael Brewster (NO)
Alex Boone (SF)
Do you buy the notion that Urban's comments about Cardale hurt his draft stock? - Rosycheeks
Meyer's initial comments obviously didn't help Cardale Jones. Teams will take into account the thoughts and impressions of Cardale's college head coach. Meyer has since clarified his comments. With that said the biggest factor on Cardale Jones' draft stock are his interviews, workouts and game film.
Is there is a team out there that will roll the dice on a quarterback who has a big arm, was able to perform three times on the biggest of stages and has a great personality? There should be. I'd gamble on Dolodale getting selected between the 2nd and 4th rounds.
What (Ohio State) position has been drafted the most to the NFL? - NinetyNine.SevenPercent
60 Ohio State linebackers have been selected by NFL teams since 1936. Defensive backs are second on the list with 57 drafted players. *Note* There are many players selected as a back or an end. Those listed at back or end were not included. I have tried to identify these player's true positions, but at this point I have not completed the task.
If the Browns randomly selected a projected first round player each year since the return, instead of selecting who they presumably spent untold resources in getting, what might their roster look like today? - OSU_ALUM_05
With the Browns' history in the NFL Draft I think it's safe to say they would have been better off drafting Ohio State players. Even if the team performed worse at least the fans would have an interest in the players on the field.
Below is the list of the highest rated Buckeyes available and the players the Browns selected since 1999.
| YEAR | BUCKEYE AVAILABLE | BROWNS' PICK | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | DAVID BOSTON | TIM COUCH | |
| 2000 | AHMED PLUMMER | COURTNEY BROWN | |
| 2001 | NATE CLEMENTS | GERARD WARREN | |
| 2002 | LeCHARLES BENTLEY | WILLIAM GREEN | |
| 2003 | MIKE DOSS | JEFF FAINE | |
| 2004 | WILL SMITH | KELLEN WINSLOW | |
| 2005 | MIKE NUGENT* | BRAYLON EDWARDS | |
| 2006 | BOBBY CARPENTER | KAMERION WIMBLEY | |
| 2007 | ANTHONY GONZALEZ | JOE THOMAS | |
| 2008** | LARRY GRANT | BEAU BELL | |
| 2009 | BEANIE WELLS | ALEX MACK | |
| 2010 | THADDEUS GIBSON | JOE HADEN | |
| 2011 | CAMERON HEYWARD | PHILLIP TAYLOR | |
| 2012 | MIKE ADAMS | TRENT RICHARDSON | |
| 2013 | JOHNATHAN HANKINS | BARKEVIOUS MINGO | |
| 2014 | RYAN SHAZIER | JUSTIN GILBERT | |
| 2015 | DEVIN SMITH | DANNY SHELTON |
Looking over this list I think all of the Buckeyes would have been an improvement over the players the Browns went with. Yes, especially Will Smith over Kellen Winslow and Mike Nugent instead of Braylon Edwards.
Full disclosure, I'm a Seattle Seahawks fan and don't follow the Browns or their players. Therefor all of Ohio State's players would have been better picks. Had Cleveland picked a Buckeye every year I might have started watching their games. My eyes and liver thank the Browns for not doing that.
*Dustin Fox and Maurice Clarett were the other Buckeyes available in 2005.
**The Browns first pick in 2008 was not until the 4th round and pick 104. They traded picks 22, 56 and 87. However, Vernon Gholston was selected with the 6th pick by the Jets so Larry Grant (214) was always the highest drafted Buckeye available. Kirk Barton (247) was the only other Ohio State player selected in 2008.
Why don't the Lions draft more Buckeyes? - JohnnyKozmo
Since 1937 the Lions have drafted 22 Ohio State players. That is tied with the Steelers for the sixth most all-time. The Lions have also selected two Buckeyes in the first round in the first round RB Hopalong Cassady (1956/3rd pick) and T Daryl Sanders (1963/12th pick).
However, the last Buckeye selected by Detroit was DE Derek MacCready in 1989. MacCready was selected in the 9th round and was the 226th overall pick. That is a 27 year drought. How has Detroit done in those 27 years? It might be time to take a Buckeye.
Who was the highest drafted player who transferred from Ohio State and played at another school? - Meek
Not sure who it currently is, but Noah Spence will be the answer after this year's draft..
Who gets drafted more frequently/higher Ohio born Buckeyes or imports?
Mzungu_Buckeye
Mzungu_Buckeye, between 1960 and 2015* there were 301 Ohio State players selected in the NFL Draft. Of those 301 players, 199 were from the great state of Ohio. 101 players were from other states (imports).
If you're good at math you realize there is a missing player. The reason why is because I don't have the hometown of Steve Howell. Howell never played football at Ohio State because he was on the basketball team. How does that happen?
The Bengals were undeterred by the fact Howell was a basketball player and took him in the 10th round of the 1969 draft. Howell was also selected by the San Diego Rockets in the 17th round of the NBA Draft. Fun fact, John Havlicek was drafted by the Browns in round 7 of the 1962 NFL Draft.
If you know where Steve Howell attended high school please post it in the comment section.
*I'm using 1960-2015 because I don't have the team guides before 1960. I'm still working on finding where all of the players before 1959 played high school football. Since 1936 the numbers are Ohio (259), Imports (113) and Unknown (44).
You're good at doing composite ratings and rankings, Remy. How about a Buckeye-specific composite of the most recent of your top few favorite analysts' mock drafts?
Buckeye Phi
Buckeye Phi, 16 different mock drafts were used to answer your question. The drafts were created by individual analysts and sites. According to the 16 experts Joey Bosa, Ezeliel Elliott, Taylor Decker and Darron Lee have a 100 percent chance of getting selected in the first round. Eli Apple was picked in the first round 69 percent of the time.
15 of the 16 mock drafts had five Ohio State players going in the first round. It appears the 2006 record of five selections will be tied. The wild cards are Michael Thomas and Vonn Bell. According to the mock drafts they both have a 13% chance of getting drafted in round one. If you count Noah Spence as a Buckeye there's a great chance six former players get picked in the first round.
When should you expect the five Buckeyes to get drafted in the first round? Below are their draft expectations and links to Eric Seger's Where They Fit series.
- Joey Bosa // 1st round range: 4th-9th // average: 6th
- Ezekiel Elliott // 1st round range: 4th-13th // average 9th
- Taylor Decker // 1st round range: 15th-30th // average 18th
- Darron Lee // 1st round range: 13th-31st // average 19th
- Eli Apple // 1st round range: 13th-42nd // average 25th
Five other players are almost guaranteed to get their name called before the final pick on Sunday. Those players are listed in order of average draft selection: Braxton Miller, Joshua Perry, Adolphus Washington, Cardale Jones and Nick Vannett.
Unfortunately, Jalin Marshall and Tyvis Powell are on the undrafted free agent watch list. They are talented enough to play in the league, but their isn't a consensus on where, or if, they will get selected. With that said I think they will be both get drafted. Of the two, Marshall will probably get picked first. Tyvis Powell will likely be the last Buckeye to have his name called at the draft.
Ohio State's 2015 draft class will tie the 2004 team's record of 14 if all the players listed above get selected. If you need an excuse to watch all four days of draft coverage you now have it.
No research - lay it on us straight.
Your opinion, when it's all said and done, who leaves the better legacy in sending Buckeyes on to successful NFL careers? Cooper, Tress, or Urban? - Hovenaut
In my opinion the answer is John Cooper. It's the amount of NFL talent that Cooper brought to Ohio State between 1993 and 2000 was a game changer for the program. Ohio State has always been an elite program, but Cooper's recruiting went national instead of regional. The impact he made on the national scale elevated Ohio State's brand to a new and farther reaching recruiting base. Cooper also had two No. 1 overall draft picks, Dan Wilkinson and Orlando Pace, and top 3 pick in Shawn Springs. A Hall of Fame tackle and two No. 1 overall picks is tough to beat. I think Cooper's eye for NFL talent is one of the building blocks to what Ohio State football is today.
It's been a couple of days since I answered your question and I know you don't want it, but I had to do the research. Here it is:
Urban Meyer has had 14 players drafted over three NFL Drafts. He has had two first round picks and the highest selection was Ryan Shazier at No. 15. The lowest picked player was Christian Bryant at No. 241. The average spot an Urban Meyer player has been selected is No. 114. All of those numbers are going to change after this weekend, but at this moment that is where he stands.
65 players had their name called with Jim Tressel as coach. Meyer has had 14 players drafted, Tressel had 14 first round draft picks. AJ Hawk (No. 5) was the highest Tressel player picked. Linebacker Austin Spitler (No. 252) was the lowest. The average draft selection was pick 109.
To my surprise the Cooper era produced 57 NFL draft picks. That is eight fewer Jim Tressel. However, 18 of those 57 were first round picks and seven were top 10 overall picks. Orlando Pace and Dan Wilkinson were Cooper's highest selected players and Everett Ross (No. 335) was the lowest. The average Cooper NFL draft pick was No. 117.
How about an all-Buckeye draft team. Form a team with the highest selected Buckeye at each position. - PotatoDigger
| POS | PLAYER | PICK | POS | PLAYER | PICK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | ART SCHLICHTER | 4 | LB | TOM COUSINEAU | 1 | |
| RB | HOPALONG CASSADY | 3 | LB | AJ HAWK | 5 | |
| FB | BOB FERGUSON | 5 | LB | VERNON GOHLSTON* | 6 | |
| WR | TERRY GLENN | 7 | CB | JIM McDONALD | 2 | |
| WR | DAVID BOSTON | 8 | CB | SHAWN SPRINGS | 3 | |
| TE | RICKEY DUDLEY | 9 | SAF | DONTE WHITNER | 8 | |
| OL | ORLANDO PACE | 1 | SAF | MALCOLM JENKINS | 14 | |
| OL | JOHN HICKS | 3 | DL | DAN WILKINSON | 1 | |
| C | GOMER JONES | 15 | DL | JACK DUGGER | 12 | |
| OL | CHRIS WARD | 4 | DL | ERIC KUMEROW** | 16 | |
| OL | BOB VOGEL | 5 | DL | WILL SMITH | 18 | |
| K | MIKE NUGENT | 47 | P | TOM SKLADANY | 46 |
*Played DE at Ohio State
**Played LB at Ohio State
Since this is all-time draft picks the results are mixed bag of modern and old-school players. With that said the defense still looks pretty stout. The special teams combo of Mike Nugent and Tom Skladany would be...special.
Is that your office at OSU? - MN Buckeye
No, my office is much nicer. Don't even think about taking my stapler.
Trivia Answer
Since 1967, from what position has Ohio State produced more NFL Draft picks than any other school?
The NFL has selected 54 defensive backs from Ohio State since 1967. The Buckeyes have had 12 defensive backs drafted in the first round. That number should grow Thursday night. Shawn Springs is the highest selected defensive back when the Seahawks picked him third in 1997. USC is second with 52 defensive backs selected.
