Deciding whether Kayden McDonald’s performance at Ohio State’s pro day went better than at the NFL Scouting Combine is as simple as listening to his words afterward.
“I felt like at the combine I was a little banged up, but I wanted to compete,” McDonald said after the scouting exhibition on March 25. “I showed the teams who I am. And what you see at the pro day, that's what you see on film.”
McDonald’s workout was more emphatic. Confident. Faster.
“It was very violent, I'll say,” McDonald said at pro day. “It shook the whole room.”
McDonald has the potential of a generational run defender in the NFL, which alone is likely to make him a first-round draft pick. He was certainly a generational run defender in college. The gap between the end of his Ohio State career on Dec. 31 and the NFL draft on April 23 is about showing professional franchises his skills go beyond that, however: That he’s an every-down defensive tackle who can help rush quarterbacks, too.
“I can bend. I'm not just a run stuffer,” McDonald said. “I can play all four downs, and really just show them my power. I'm just explosive. I'm really explosive and I trust my technique.”
K-Mac, Slim-Mac, Big-Mac, whatever the Mac, McDonald was the best defensive tackle in college football last year. That’s a statement of fact. He was the only unanimous All-American from the nation's interior defensive linemen, the only to be an Outland Trophy finalist and the nation’s highest-graded run defender at any position at 91.2, per Pro Football Focus. He finished 2025 with an incredible 65 tackles, nine tackles for loss, three sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
McDonald even made waves as a backup to Tyleik Williams and Ty Hamilton in 2024, a key cog in the line of goal-line stands essential to the Buckeyes’ national championship run.
“It started a couple years before with some of those goal-line stands,” Day said. “You think about in ‘24, the Nebraska game and some of those games where he was lined up on that center and just knocking people back. And then it just really carried over into this year and what he did.”
A gentle giant, McDonald embraced a different persona on the field. The most intimidating defensive tackle in the country for the above-mentioned production, he also wore a full face of eye black that must have been a fear-striking sight for offensive linemen.
“Once I put that black face on, I’m just a whole different person,” McDonald said. ‘I developed it growing up as a kid, having my big brother, we going back and forth in the backyard and stuff. Being in those moments, growing up, those tough moments, it makes everything easier once you get to the stage. That's all I see.”
An elite run-stopping nose guard the caliber of McDonald is essential to any great defense, and he helped Ohio State finish No. 1 nationally in both scoring and total defense. Defensive coordinator Matt Patricia made full use of him as a space-devourer front and center, even putting him head-up on centers in five-man fronts at times.
While McDonald recorded three sacks, he also helped collapse some pockets for other Buckeye rushers to get home on passing downs. He’ll need to keep building on those skills to be an elite interior rusher in the NFL – even if his run defense alone is game-changing and worthy of a first-round pick.
“What Matt did, putting him over the center on first and second down, would really fit his skill set in a big way,” Day said. “Could see him two-gapping, really powerful in the run game. And you can see he looks great. He's going to be able to rush the passer as well. He was somebody that certainly helped us in a big way to stop the run on early downs.”
McDonald is one of many Ohio State defenders set to be drafted early in less than a month. Safety Caleb Downs and linebackers Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese are surefire first-round picks, as is wide receiver Carnell Tate on the offensive side. The quintet could tie an Ohio State record if all five do become first-round draft picks, which feels likely. The Buckeyes also had five players taken in the first round of the 2016 NFL draft. The majority of mock NFL drafts have McDonald going day one.
“Develop here,” McDonald said of what it would mean for all five of them to go in the first. “You're going to get developed, and the best players come here. Next year is going to be even more crazier with all the guys coming out. It just doesn't ever stop. We just keep reloading. It's been an exciting journey for me.”
The entire McDonald family will be in attendance in Pittsburgh to, ideally, hear his name called in the first round.
“My big brother, my sister, my mom,” McDonald said. Having the people behind you the whole way through. Just when the hard times come, staying with it. Then when the good things come, staying high and just staying blessed. I'm so thankful. Words can't explain. Just coaches around, Coach Johnson, Coach Patricia, those guys. They played a really big role. They got me ready. And that's why you come to Ohio State, to prepare the best and be the best.”
