The 2024 All-Buckeye Team: How A 53-Man Roster of Ohio State’s Active NFL Players Stacks Up

Each year after the NFL draft, we answer the same question here at Eleven Warriors: What would a 53-man roster full of former Ohio State players in the NFL look like right now?

The answer: It would look quite good.

While there are a few positions where Ohio State’s alumni depth chart of active NFL players leaves something to be desired, the All-Buckeye Team would be absolutely loaded at numerous positions – especially wide receiver and defensive end – while the position that has historically been one of its biggest weaknesses, quarterback, is now one of its greatest strengths.

To be eligible for the All-Buckeye Team, a player must be on an active NFL roster and intending to play in the 2024 season and must have completed his college football career at Ohio State. As of Monday, there were 62 former Buckeyes who met that criteria.

We’ve pared that list down to 53 players, the regular-season roster limit for NFL teams, and put together a projected depth chart for what it would look like if all of the Ohio State players in the league teamed up to play for the same squad.

QB: C.J. Stroud, Justin Fields

Thanks to Stroud’s rapid rise to stardom in his first NFL season, the All-Buckeye Team’s quarterback roster is the strongest it’s ever been. Coming off one of the best seasons ever for an NFL rookie quarterback, Stroud can already be considered the best NFL quarterback Ohio State has ever had, given OSU’s lackluster history of producing NFL starters at the position.

Fields will likely be a backup this year after his trade from the Chicago Bears to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he brings multiple years of NFL starting experience to Pittsburgh and is one of the league’s most dynamic running quarterbacks. With Stroud leading the way, this one-two punch at quarterback would be one of the best in the league.

RB: Ezekiel Elliott, J.K. Dobbins, Trey Sermon

While the All-Buckeye Team is better than it’s ever been at quarterback, its current running back depth chart isn’t quite as strong as it’s been historically, though it still has two running backs who could be NFL starters this year.

Elliott’s best years as an NFL running back are behind him, though he’s expected to play a significant role this season after rejoining the Dallas Cowboys on Monday. Dobbins is likely to be one of the top two backs for the Los Angeles Chargers this year, but he has to prove he can return to his old form after suffering two major injuries – most recently a torn Achilles in the Baltimore Ravens’ 2023 season opener – in the last three years.

Sermon hasn’t seen a lot of playing time in his first three NFL seasons, though he has been solid when given opportunities, rushing for 160 yards on 35 attempts with the Indianapolis Colts in 2023.

All of that said, the All-Buckeye Team will welcome the reinforcements coming next year when TreVeyon Henderson and potentially Quinshon Judkins become NFL players.

WR: Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Terry McLaurin, Marvin Harrison Jr., Curtis Samuel, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Noah Brown

Harrison is expected to be the Arizona Cardinals’ No. 1 wide receiver immediately, but he’ll have to earn his way into the starting lineup of the All-Buckeye Team. Olave and Wilson have both topped 1,000 yards in their first two NFL seasons while McLaurin has reached quadruple digits in four straight campaigns, giving the All-Buckeye Team an established trio of certified stars at the position.

The All-Buckeye Team includes at least six receivers who will be NFL starters this season with Samuel coming off of back-to-back 600-yard seasons and Smith-Njigba looking to build off a 628-yard rookie season. Brown has also surged to become a productive NFL receiver over the past two years, earning the final receiver spot on the All-Buckeye Team over Parris Campbell, Austin Mack and Xavier Johnson after back-to-back 550-yard seasons.

This wide receiver roster would be the best in the NFL by a wide margin, and it doesn’t even include 2019 NFL Offensive Player of the Year Michael Thomas, who is currently unsigned after battling injuries for the last four years.

TE: Luke Farrell, Jeremy Ruckert, Cade Stover

Ohio State doesn’t currently have any NFL starters at the tight end position, but it has three rotational players in Farrell, Ruckert and Stover. Farrell and Ruckert have both been solid contributors off the bench for their respective teams, the Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets, while Stover will look to carve out a role with Stroud’s Houston Texans after they drafted him in the fourth round.

Stover was Ohio State’s most productive receiving tight end in decades, so he has the potential to give the All-Buckeye Team more pop in the passing game at this position. Blocking will be the most important task for this group, though, with all the weapons at wide receiver.

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OT: Taylor Decker, Dawand Jones, Paris Johnson Jr., Thayer Munford, Nicholas Petit-Frere

Decker, now entering his ninth season as the Detroit Lions’ starting left tackle, gives the All-Buckeye Team a stalwart to protect Stroud’s blind side. That leaves three other Buckeyes who were starting tackles in the NFL last season – Jones, Johnson and Munford – to compete for the starting right tackle job.

With five total offensive tackles who made NFL starts last season, also including Petit-Frere, the All-Buckeye Team has depth that any team would be thrilled to have on the edges of its offensive line.

G: Jonah Jackson, Michael Jordan, Matthew Jones

Jackson, who signed a three-year, $51 million contract with the Los Angeles Rams in March after four years with the Detroit Lions, gives the All-Buckeye Team a standout left guard. He’s the only firmly established NFL guard from Ohio State right now, however, as Jordan and Jones will both be fighting for roster spots this offseason.

Fortunately, Munford and Johnson have experience playing guard as both did in 2021 when Petit-Frere and Jones were Ohio State’s starting tackles. Johnson and Munford are both better tackles than they are guards, but their flexibility to move inside leaves the All-Buckeye offensive line in solid shape.

C: Josh Myers, Luke Wypler

While Corey Linsley is still on the Chargers’ active roster, he said earlier this offseason that he will likely retire due to a heart issue. As such, Myers takes over starting center duties for the All-Buckeye Team after starting every game for the Green Bay Packers in both of the past two seasons.

Although Linsley will be missed, the All-Buckeye Team still has what it needs at center with a quality starter in Myers and a sound backup in Wypler, who started one game as a rookie for the Cleveland Browns last season.

DE: Nick Bosa, Joey Bosa, Sam Hubbard, Jonathon Cooper, Chase Young, Tyquan Lewis, Zach Harrison

Much like at wide receiver, the All-Buckeye Team’s defensive end depth chart would be the best in the NFL by a long shot, featuring a multitude of edge defenders who will play major roles for their actual NFL teams in 2024.

Nick Bosa leads this group as arguably the NFL’s best defensive end. His older brother Joey likely joins him in the All-Buckeye starting lineup, though he faces plenty of competition for playing time from the likes of Hubbard, Cooper and Young, who are also starters for their respective teams.

All of them recorded at least six sacks during the 2023 NFL season while Lewis is also coming off the most productive season of his pro career. Harrison flashed in limited playing time as a rookie for the Atlanta Falcons, giving Ohio State’s alumni squad incredible depth at DE even with Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau choosing to stay at Ohio State for another year.

Tyreke Smith (Cardinals) and Jalyn Holmes (Jets) will also be competing to make NFL rosters this summer, but there simply isn’t room for them on the All-Buckeye defensive end roster.

Nick Bosa leads a stacked defensive end depth chart for the All-Buckeye Team. (Photo: Kirby Lee – USA TODAY Sports)

DT: Cameron Heyward, Dre’Mont Jones, DaVon Hamilton, Johnathan Hankins, Mike Hall

The All-Buckeye Team’s interior defensive line is also strong, led by a future Pro Football Hall of Famer in Heyward, who’s still going strong as one of the league’s top interior defensive linemen entering his 14th season with the Steelers. 

Jones, Hankins and Hamilton give the All-Buckeye Team three more veteran defensive tackles with considerable starting experience, setting up a high-quality two-deep of proven players to lead the middle of the defensive line. They’re now joined by a high-upside prospect in Hall, who adds another explosive penetrator to a defensive line full of difference-makers.

Tommy Togiai will also be competing for a roster spot with the Falcons this summer, but he misses the cut after playing in zero regular-season games last year.

LB: Pete Werner, Jerome Baker, Baron Browning, Malik Harrison, Tommy Eichenberg, Raekwon McMillan

While Ohio State doesn’t currently have any superstar linebackers in the NFL, the All-Buckeye team is led by a good pair of starting inside linebackers in Werner and Baker, who combined for 171 total tackles as starters for their respective teams last season.

Browning, who plays primarily on the edge for the Denver Broncos but fits in the linebacker group here due to the depth at defensive end, gives the All-Buckeye Team a versatile chess piece who can be a disruptive playmaker from multiple spots. Harrison adds another quality rotational piece to the mix who has started 27 games for the Ravens over the past four years.

Eichenberg bolsters the depth at linebacker after he was drafted in the fifth round by the Las Vegas Raiders, where he’ll likely begin his career as a backup. McMillan, like Dobbins, is coming off a torn Achilles just two years after a torn ACL, but his play when healthy earns him the final linebacker spot on the All-Buckeye roster over Steele Chambers, who will have to fight for a roster spot with the Lions after going undrafted.

CB: Denzel Ward, Marshon Lattimore, Jeff Okudah, Shaun Wade

The All-Buckeye Team’s starting cornerback duo would be the best in the NFL with a pair of true No. 1 cornerbacks lining up opposite one another in Ward and Lattimore. Lattimore has battled injuries for the last two years but is one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks when healthy, while Ward is coming off of his third career Pro Bowl selection.

The All-Buckeye Team’s depth at cornerback is thinner than it has been in past years, however, as Bradley Roby, Eli Apple and Kendall Sheffield all remain unsigned despite playing in the league last season.

Okudah, who hasn’t lived up to expectations as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 draft but still started nine games for the Falcons last season, gives Ward and Lattimore a solid backup outside. Wade is coming off of his most productive season to date with the New England Patriots and has experience playing in the slot that is needed for this group.

The All-Buckeye Team will get the infusion of young depth it needs next year when Denzel Burke, Jordan Hancock and potentially Davison Igbinosun make the jump from Ohio State to the NFL.

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S: Jordan Fuller, Malik Hooker, Vonn Bell, Ronnie Hickman

Fuller, Hooker and Bell are all proven NFL safeties who have been dependable leaders for their respective teams, giving the All-Buckeye Team three excellent options to fill their starting safety spots.

Hickman proved to be a pleasant surprise for the Browns as an undrafted rookie, starting four games and even returning an interception for a touchdown in Cleveland’s playoff-clinching victory over the Jets. While he’s unlikely to become a full-time starter for the Browns this year, he’s proven he belongs in the NFL, giving Ohio State’s alumni squad a strong two-deep at safety.

Josh Proctor and Tanner McCalister would both be options for the All-Buckeye Team to roster a fifth safety, though both will have to battle to stick around on NFL rosters this season. Proctor signed with the Jaguars as an undrafted free agent while McCalister joined the Broncos in January after spending most of last year on the Browns’ practice squad.

K: None

The All-Buckeye Team finds itself without a kicker for the third year in a row as Ohio State hasn’t had a kicker in the NFL since Mike Nugent’s career ended. This spot will likely remain vacant for at least a couple more years as current OSU kicker Jayden Fielding enters his junior year with the Buckeyes.

P: Cameron Johnston

Johnston has consistently ranked among the NFL’s better punters since becoming the Philadelphia Eagles’ kicker in 2018. Now on his third NFL team after signing with the Steelers in March, Johnston is a player the All-Buckeye Team can rely on to flip the field when its offense doesn’t score.

LS: Liam McCullough

With Jake McQuaide currently unsigned, McCullough becomes the long snapper for the All-Buckeye Team this season. The former Ohio State snapper is entering his third season in that role with the Falcons, having snapped in all 17 games for Atlanta in both 2022 and 2023.