Ohio State had exactly six players selected in the NFL draft with just one defensive player drafted for the second year in a row.
Just like in 2022, Ohio State’s 2023 NFL draft class was dominated by offense, as five of the Buckeyes’ six selections came on that side of the ball. Those picks included three first-rounders – No. 2 overall pick C.J. Stroud (Houston Texans), No. 6 overall pick Paris Johnson Jr. (Arizona Cardinals) and No. 20 overall pick Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Seattle Seahawks) – as well as offensive linemen Dawand Jones and Luke Wypler, who were both drafted by the Cleveland Browns on Day 3.
Also like last year, when Seahawks fifth-round pick Tyreke Smith was Ohio State’s only defensive draft choice, the only defensive player drafted from the Buckeyes this year was a defensive end: Zach Harrison, who went to the Atlanta Falcons in Round 3 (No. 75 overall).
| Round | Pick | Player | Pos | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | C.J. STROUD | QB | HOUSTON TEXANS |
| 1 | 6 | PARIS JOHNSON JR. | OT | ARIZONA CARDINALS |
| 1 | 20 | JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA | WR | SEATTLE SEAHAWKS |
| 3 | 75 | ZACH HARRISON | DE | ATLANTA FALCONS |
| 4 | 111 | DAWAND JONES | OT | CLEVELAND BROWNS |
| 6 | 190 | LUKE WYPLER | C | CLEVELAND BROWNS |
The back-to-back draft classes of only six players are a bit of a downturn for Ohio State in terms of producing NFL talent, as the Buckeyes had at least seven players drafted in six straight years from 2016-21.
That said, the half-dozen Buckeyes selected this year were enough for Ohio State to extend its streak of at least five players drafted to 10 straight years. Alabama, which has had at least 10 players selected in every draft since 2010, is the only other school with an active streak of five or more draft picks in 10 consecutive years.
| Year | Picks | Players |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 6 | LB RYAN SHAZIER (1st), CB BRADLEY ROBY (1st), RB CARLOS HYDE (2nd), OT JACK MEWHORT (2nd), C COREY LINSLEY (5th), S CHRISTIAN BRYANT (7th) |
| 2015 | 5 | WR DEVIN SMITH (2nd), TE JEFF HEUERMAN (3rd), CB DORAN GRANT (4th), DT MICHAEL BENNETT (6th), WR EVAN SPENCER (6th) |
| 2016 | 12 | DE JOEY BOSA (1st), RB EZEKIEL ELLIOTT (1st), CB ELI APPLE (1st), OT TAYLOR DECKER (1st), LB DARRON LEE (1st), WR MICHAEL THOMAS (2nd), S VONN BELL (2nd), DT ADOLPHUS WASHINGTON (3rd), WR BRAXTON MILLER (3rd), TE NICK VANNETT (3rd), LB JOSHUA PERRY (4th), QB CARDALE JONES (4th) |
| 2017 | 7 | CB MARSHON LATTIMORE (1st), S MALIK HOOKER (1st), CB GAREON CONLEY (1st), WR CURTIS SAMUEL (2nd), LB RAEKWON MCMILLAN (2nd), C PAT ELFLEIN (3rd), WR NOAH BROWN (7th) |
| 2018 | 7 | CB DENZEL WARD (1st), C BILLY PRICE (1st), DE TYQUAN LEWIS (2nd), LB JEROME BAKER (3rd), DE SAM HUBBARD (3rd), DE JALYN HOLMES (4th), OL JAMARCO JONES (5th) |
| 2019 | 9 | DE NICK BOSA (1st), QB DWAYNE HASKINS (1st), WR PARRIS CAMPBELL (2nd), DT DRE'MONT JONES (3rd), WR TERRY MCLAURIN (3rd), CB KENDALL SHEFFIELD (4th), G MICHAEL JORDAN (4th), OT ISAIAH PRINCE (6th), RB MIKE WEBER (7th) |
| 2020 | 10 | DE CHASE YOUNG (1st), CB JEFF OKUDAH (1st), CB DAMON ARNETTE (1st), RB J.K. DOBBINS (2nd), DT DAVON HAMILTON (3rd), G JONAH JACKSON (3rd), LB MALIK HARRISON (3rd), S JORDAN FULLER (6th), WR K.J. HILL (7th), DT JASHON CORNELL (7th) |
| 2021 | 10 | QB JUSTIN FIELDS (1st), LB PETE WERNER (2nd), C JOSH MYERS (2nd), G WYATT DAVIS (3rd), RB TREY SERMON (3rd), LB BARON BROWNING (4th), DT TOMMY TOGIAI (4th), TE LUKE FARRELL (5th), CB SHAUN WADE (5th), DE JONATHON COOPER (7th) |
| 2022 | 6 | WR GARRETT WILSON (1st), WR CHRIS OLAVE (1st), OT NICHOLAS PETIT-FRERE (3rd), TE JEREMY RUCKERT (3rd), DE TYREKE SMITH (5th), OL THAYER MUNFORD (7th) |
| 2023 | 6 | QB C.J. STROUD (1st), OT PARIS JOHNSON JR. (1st), WR JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA (1st), DE ZACH HARRISON (3rd), OT DAWAND JONES (4th), C LUKE WYPLER (6th) |
Overall, Ohio State’s six selections were tied for the fifth-most among all schools in the 2023 NFL draft. Alabama and Georgia led all schools with 10 picks each while Michigan had nine and TCU had eight. Ohio State was one of seven schools that had six picks along with Clemson, Florida, LSU, Oregon, Penn State and Pittsburgh.
Ohio State’s three first-round picks were tied with Alabama and Georgia for the most among all schools this year. Stroud, Johnson and Smith-Njigba increased Ohio State’s all-time total of first-round picks to 90 – five more than USC, who has the second-most first-rounders all-time. Ohio State has now had three first-round picks in 12 different NFL drafts, and this year was just the sixth time the Buckeyes have had three top-20 overall picks.
| Year | Picks | Players |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 4 | JOHN BROCKINGTON (9), JACK TATUM (19), TIM ANDERSON (23), LEO HAYDEN (24) |
| 1974 | 3 | JOHN HICKS (3), RICK MIDDLETON (13), RANDY GRADISHAR (14) |
| 1975 | 3 | KURT SCHUMACHER (12), DOUG FRANCE (20), NEAL COLZIE (24) |
| 1995 | 3 | JOEY GALLOWAY (8), KOREY STRINGER (24), CRAIG POWELL (30) |
| 1996 | 3 | TERRY GLENN (7), RICKEY DUDLEY (9), EDDIE GEORGE (14) |
| 1999 | 3 | DAVID BOSTON (8), ANTOINE WINFIELD (23), ANDY KATZENMOYER (28) |
| 2004 | 3 | WILL SMITH (18), CHRIS GAMBLE (28), MICHAEL JENKINS (29) |
| 2006 | 5 | A.J. HAWK (5), DONTE WHITNER (8), BOBBY CARPENTER (18), SANTONIO HOLMES (25), NICK MANGOLD (29) |
| 2016 | 5 | JOEY BOSA (3), EZEKIEL ELLIOTT (4), ELI APPLE (10), TAYLOR DECKER (16), DARRON LEE (20) |
| 2017 | 3 | MARSHON LATTIMORE (11), MALIK HOOKER (15), GAREON CONLEY (24) |
| 2020 | 3 | CHASE YOUNG (2), JEFF OKUDAH (3), DAMON ARNETTE (19) |
| 2023 | 3 | C.J. STROUD (2), PARIS JOHNSON JR. (6), JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA (20) |
Ohio State players who went undrafted in the 2023 NFL draft included safeties Ronnie Hickman and Tanner McCalister, cornerback Cameron Brown, defensive tackles Taron Vincent and Jerron Cage, fullback/tight end Mitch Rossi, kicker Noah Ruggles, long snapper Bradley Robinson and linebacker Palaie Gaoteote IV. Hickman and McCalister both signed undrafted free-agent deals with the Browns while Brown signed with the Los Angeles Chargers and Cage signed with the New Orleans Saints on Saturday night.
