Among Ohio State’s 11 participants in the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine, only one of them had a real decision to make on whether to enter the 2026 NFL draft.
Caleb Downs, Arvell Reese, Carnell Tate and Kayden McDonald all had another year of eligibility at Ohio State, but it would have been surprising if any of them stayed in school given that all of them are projected first-round NFL draft picks. Sonny Styles, Caden Curry, Davison Igbinosun, Lorenzo Styles Jr., Will Kacmarek and CJ Donaldson were all seniors who were out of eligibility.
The one Buckeye who entered the 2026 draft with another year of eligibility who would have had reason to consider staying at Ohio State for another season was Max Klare. Currently projected as a third-round pick in most mock drafts, Klare could have potentially boosted his draft stock if he stayed at OSU and had a big year in 2026. But the former Ohio State and Purdue tight end felt like it was time to start his professional career.
“I feel like I'm ready for it. I'm ready for the next opportunity. Ready to go compete in the NFL and have a great career,” Klare said Thursday during his interview session at the combine. “I thought about it, had some conversations and this is where I ended up.”
After catching 51 passes for 685 yards and four touchdowns in his final season at Purdue in 2024, Klare wasn’t quite as productive in his one season at Ohio State, catching just 43 passes for 448 yards and two touchdowns in 14 games. But Klare is still happy he chose to be a Buckeye for his last year of college football, believing he got better because of the competition he faced in practice every day as he went head-to-head with a defense full of future first-round picks that ranked as the nation’s best in 2025.
“It was awesome,” Klare said of his year at Ohio State. “I went there to compete against the best every day. Whether that was going against Sonny Styles, Arvell Reese in inside drill, and then going down to one-on-ones against Caleb Downs, I think every day I got better there. And I'm super grateful for my time there and the experience I had.”
With more receiving talent around him at Ohio State than he had at Purdue, Klare was asked to block and play different roles within the offense more as a Buckeye than he was as a Boilermaker. During his interview on Thursday, Klare noted that he played everywhere from wide receiver to slot receiver to in-line tight end across various personnel packages and even took a snap at running back.
Klare embraced every role he was asked to play, prioritizing the team’s success above his individual production, and believes he’ll enter the NFL as a more complete player as a result.
“I accepted the role that I had,” Klare said. “We were extremely successful at Ohio State, and I was super fortunate to be a part of that. And whatever role that the coach gave me, I was gonna go attack it to the best of my abilities. And yeah, I was super, super fortunate to be a part of that team.”
“I went there to compete against the best every day. Whether that was going against Sonny Styles, Arvell Reese in inside drill, and then going down to one-on-ones against Caleb Downs, I think every day I got better there.”– Max Klare on how he got better at Ohio State
Klare, who plans to do a full workout with the tight end group at the NFL Scouting Combine on Friday, says his goal wherever he gets drafted is to earn the trust of his coaches and teammates from day one.
“I'm gonna be a guy that's gonna show up every day with the same mindset to get better and attack each day like the last,” Klare said.
Klare believes his experience of going from Purdue to Ohio State last year prepared him well for his next transition from Ohio State to the NFL.
“I think it's gonna be really similar. It was a similar experience last year, so that kind of gives me an idea of what it's gonna be like moving on to the next level,” Klare said.
