The 2026 NFL draft is less than two weeks away.
All signs continue to point toward Ohio State having one of its greatest drafts ever. Five Ohio State players were invited to the 2026 NFL draft – Caleb Downs, Kayden McDonald, Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles and Carnell Tate – and all of them are projected to hear their names called as first-round picks in Pittsburgh on April 23.
Five other Buckeyes are also projected to be selected in a majority of seven-round mock drafts, putting Ohio State in position to have double-digit draft selections for the second year in a row.
More and more NFL draft analysts have released their projections for how the draft will play out as the draft draws ever closer. As the pre-draft process reaches its homestretch, we’ve compiled the projections for every Buckeye from each of the following 48 mock drafts – all from the past two weeks – for a supersized look at where each of Ohio State’s draft prospects could land with just one more week to go until draft week.
- A to Z Sports' Kyle Crabbs (3 rounds)
- A to Z Sports' Staff (4 rounds)
- A to Z Sports' Tyler Forness (2 rounds)
- Athlon Sports’ Luke Easterling (4 rounds)
- Bleacher Report Scouting Department (1 round)
- CBS Sports' Garrett Podell (1 round)
- CBS Sports' Josh Edwards (7 rounds)
- CBS Sports' JP Acosta (1 round)
- CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco (1 round)
- CBS Sports' Ryan Wilson (3 rounds)
- CBS Sports' Tom Fornelli (1 round)
- Draft Countdown's Brian Bosarge (1 round)
- Draft Tek (7 rounds)
- DRAFTPLEX (7 rounds)
- DraftWire's Curt Popejoy (2 rounds)
- ESPN's Matt Miller (7 rounds)
- ESPN's Peter Schrager (1 round)
- ESPN's Staff (3 rounds)
- FanSided's Cody Williams (3 rounds)
- Fantasy Pros' Matthew Jones (1 round)
- Fantasy Pros' Mike Fanelli (3 rounds)
- FOX Sports' Nick Wright (1 round)
- FOX Sports Staff (1 round)
- NFL Draft HQ (3 rounds)
- NFL Spin Zone's Lou Scataglia (2 rounds)
- NFL.com's Chad Reuter (5 rounds)
- NFL.com's Lance Zierlein (1 round)
- NFL.com's Nick Shook (1 round)
- NFL.com's Rhett Lewis (1 round)
- PFF's Daire Carragher (1 round)
- Pro Football Network’s Alec Elijah (7 rounds)
- Pro Football Network's Jacob Infante (3 rounds)
- Pro Football Network's Ryan Moran (3 rounds)
- Pro Football Network’s T.J. Randall (7 rounds)
- San Diego Union-Tribune’s Eddie Brown (3 rounds)
- SB Nation's Mark Schofield (1 round)
- Sporting News' Vinnie Iyer (7 rounds)
- Sports Illustrated's Justin Melo (1 round)
- Sports Talk's Sam Teets (3 rounds)
- Stadium Rant's Charles North (2 rounds)
- Tankathon (4 rounds)
- The Athletic's Bruce Feldman (2 rounds)
- The Athletic's Nick Baumgardner (3 rounds)
- The Draft Network’s Keith Sanchez (1 round)
- USA TODAY's Ayrton Ostly (1 round)
- USA TODAY'S Nate Davis (1 round)
- USA TODAY's Tyler Dragon (1 round)
- Yahoo Sports’ Charles McDonald and Nate Tice (1 round)
Players are listed in order of their average draft projection in the mocks in which they are listed. The plus/minus next to each player’s average indicates whether their average has improved or fallen since our last mock draft roundup on March 24. A value of 258 was added to the average for each seven-round mock draft in which a Buckeye is projected to go undrafted.
Arvell Reese, LB
- Round 1, No. 2, New York Jets: 39 (A to Z, Acosta, B/R, Baumgardner, Bosarge, Brown, Carragher, Crabbs, Davis, DRAFTPLEX, Draft Tek, Dragon, Edwards, Elijah, ESPN, Feldman, Fornelli, Forness, FOX Sports, Infante, Iyer, Lewis, Melo, Miller, Moran, North, Ostly, Podell, Prisco, Reuter, Scataglia, Schofield, Tankathon, Teets, Williams, Wright, Yahoo, Zierlein)
- Round 1, No. 3, Arizona Cardinals: 4 (Easterling, Jones, Sanchez, Schrager)
- Round 1, No. 4, Tennessee Titans: Shook
- Round 1, No. 5, New York Giants: 3 (Popejoy, Randall, Wilson)
- Round 1, No. 7, Washington Commanders: Draft HQ
Average Draft Projection: 2.4 (+0.2)
| Year | Pick | Pos | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 1 | LB | TOM COUSINEAU | BILLS |
| 1994 | 1 | DT | DAN WILKINSON | BENGALS |
| 1997 | 1 | OT | ORLANDO PACE | RAMS |
| 1938 | 2 | HB | JIM MCDONALD | EAGLES |
| 2019 | 2 | DE | NICK BOSA | 49ERS |
| 2020 | 2 | DE | CHASE YOUNG | COMMANDERS |
| 2023 | 2 | QB | C.J. STROUD | TEXANS |
| 1956 | 3 | HB | HOPALONG CASSADY | LIONS |
| 1974 | 3 | G | JOHN HICKS | GIANTS |
| 1997 | 3 | CB | SHAWN SPRINGS | SEAHAWKS |
| 2016 | 3 | DE | JOEY BOSA | CHARGERS |
| 2020 | 3 | CB | JEFF OKUDAH | LIONS |
Reese remains the clear favorite to be the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s NFL draft. More than 80% of mock drafts project the New York Jets to select the Ohio State linebacker/edge rusher after the Las Vegas Raiders start the draft by selecting Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
The Jets have shown clear interest in Reese throughout the process – Jets coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey watched closely as he went through his workout at Ohio State’s pro day last month, and the team also brought him to their New Jersey facility for a pre-draft visit. Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey is Reese’s top competition to be the second player off the board. If Reese goes second, he’ll be Ohio State’s eighth top-two overall pick all-time.
Reese is unanimously projected to be a top-seven overall pick, with all but one mock draft in this roundup placing Reese in the top five.
Sonny Styles, LB
- Round 1, No. 2, New York Jets: Randall
- Round 1, No. 3, Arizona Cardinals: 3 (Edwards, Iyer, Wright)
- Round 1, No. 4, Tennessee Titans: 7 (Baumgardner, Brown, Crabbs, Elijah, Jones, Scataglia, Yahoo)
- Round 1, No. 5, New York Giants: 16 (Acosta, Bosarge, Davis, DRAFTPLEX, Dragon, Fanelli, Feldman, Fornelli, Forness, Lewis, Moran, Prisco, Schofield, Shook, Tankathon, Williams)
- Round 1, No. 6, Cleveland Browns: Draft HQ
- Round 1, No. 6, Dallas Cowboys: Easterling
- Round 1, No. 7, Washington Commanders: 6 (A to Z, B/R, Melo, North, Ostly, Schrager)
- Round 1, No. 8, New Orleans Saints: 4 (ESPN, Popejoy, Sanchez, Wilson)
- Round 1, No. 8, Dallas Cowboys: Teets
- Round 1, No. 9, Kansas City Chiefs: 3 (Draft Tek, FOX Sports, Podell)
- Round 1, No. 10, Cincinnati Bengals: 2 (Infante, Miller)
- Round 1, No. 12, Dallas Cowboys: 3 (Carragher, Reuter, Zierlein)
Average Draft Projection: 6.2 (-1)
Ohio State appears very likely to become the first school ever to have two linebackers selected in the top 10 of the same NFL draft, as 46 of the 48 mock drafts in this roundup have Styles going in the first 10 picks. More than half of those mock drafts have Styles going in the top five, with exactly a third of the mocks in this roundup projecting the New York Giants to draft the former Ohio State captain with the No. 5 overall pick.
Styles is unanimously projected to be a top-12 pick, solidifying his standing as one of the draft’s elite prospects with his dominant performance at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Carnell Tate, WR
- Round 1, No. 3, Arizona Cardinals: Teets
- Round 1, No. 4, Tennessee Titans: Popejoy
- Round 1, No. 5, New York Giants: 6 (A to Z, Draft Tek, Ostly, Podell, Wright, Zierlein)
- Round 1, No. 6, Cleveland Browns: 17 (B/R, Crabbs, Davis, DRAFTPLEX, Dragon, Edwards, Elijah, Fornelli, FOX Sports, Iyer, Jones, Miller, Moran, Randall, Shook, Tankathon, Yahoo)
- Round 1, No. 7, Washington Commanders: 5 (Acosta, Carragher, Easterling, Lewis, Sanchez)
- Round 1, No. 8, New Orleans Saints: 7 (Baumgardner, Brown, Feldman, Forness, North, Prisco, Williams)
- Round 1, No. 9, Cleveland Browns: Bosarge
- Round 1, No. 9, Kansas City Chiefs: 3 (Melo, Scataglia)
- Round 1, No. 11, Miami Dolphins: 3 (ESPN, Reuter, Schrager)
- Round 1, No. 13, Los Angeles Rams: 2 (Schofield, Wilson)
- Round 1, No. 14, Baltimore Ravens: 2 (Draft HQ, Infante)
Average Draft Projection: 7.4 (+0.7)
It’s looking increasingly likely that Carnell Tate will stay in the state of Ohio for his professional football. More than a third of mock drafts in this roundup have the Cleveland Browns selecting the former Ohio State wide receiver with the No. 6 overall pick as they seek to add a much-needed No. 1 receiver to their offense.
Like Reese and Styles, Tate is unanimously projected as a top-15 pick, as no mock drafts have him falling further than 14th. More than 85% of mock drafts have Tate going in the top 10. Assuming those projections hold, Tate will be the sixth wide receiver from Ohio State selected within the top 20 picks of an NFL draft in the last five years.
Caleb Downs, S
- Round 1, No. 3, Arizona Cardinals: FOX Sports
- Round 1, No. 5, New York Giants: 7 (B/R, Carragher, Elijah, Infante, Iyer, Miller, North)
- Round 1, No. 7, Washington Commanders: 10 (Bosarge, Davis, Dragon, ESPN, Fornelli, Jones, Scataglia, Shook, Williams, Wright)
- Round 1, No. 8, New Orleans Saints: 4 (Draft HQ, Melo, Podell, Reuter)
- Round 1, No. 9, Kansas City Chiefs: 4 (Baumgardner, Easterling, Wilson, Yahoo)
- Round 1, No. 9, Washington Commanders: Fanelli
- Round 1, No. 10, Cincinnati Bengals: 14 (A to Z, Acosta, Crabbs, Draft Tek, Edwards, Feldman, Forness, Lewis, Moran, Popejoy, Prisco, Randall, Schofield, Tankathon)
- Round 1, No. 11, Miami Dolphins: 2 (Brown, Ostly)
- Round 1, No. 12, Dallas Cowboys: 2 (DRAFTPLEX, Schrager)
- Round 1, No. 13, Los Angeles Rams: Sanchez
- Round 1, No. 16, New York Jets: Zierlein
- Round 1, No. 18, Minnesota Vikings: Teets
Average Draft Projection: 8.7 (-0.5)
Like Tate, Downs is also projected to be a top-10 pick in 41 of the 48 mock drafts included in this roundup, putting Ohio State in position to be the first school since Michigan State in 1967 – and only the third school ever – to have four players selected in the top 10 picks of an NFL draft.
The teams viewed as the most likely candidates to draft the Jim Thorpe Award winner in the top 10 are the Giants (whose pick could come down to a decision between Downs and Styles), the Washington Commanders and the Cincinnati Bengals. Only three mocks in this roundup have Downs falling past the Dallas Cowboys’ 12th overall pick; no mock has Downs falling further than No. 18 overall, which would still be a shocking slide for the two-time unanimous All-American.
Kayden McDonald, DT
| PICK | PLAYER | TEAM | DRAFTS | PERCENTAGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Arvell Reese | Jets | 39/49 | 80% |
| 5 | Sonny Styles | Giants | 16/48 | 33% |
| 6 | Carnell Tate | Browns | 17/48 | 35% |
| 10 | Caleb Downs | Bengals | 14/48 | 29% |
| 28 | Kayden McDonald | Texans | 10/48 | 21% |
- Round 1, No. 18, Minnesota Vikings: Yahoo
- Round 1, No. 21, Pittsburgh Steelers: Wright
- Round 1, No. 23, Philadelphia Eagles: Sanchez
- Round 1, No. 25, Chicago Bears: 7 (Acosta, Brown, Elijah, Forness, Popejoy, Scataglia, Schofield)
- Round 1, No. 26, Buffalo Bills: Schrager
- Round 1, No. 27, San Francisco 49ers: Tankathon
- Round 1, No. 28, Houston Texans: 10 (Baumgardner, ESPN, Feldman, FOX Sports, Infante, Iyer, Jones, Prisco, Randall, Wilson)
- Round 1, No. 31, New England Patriots: 3 (B/R, Davis, DRAFTPLEX)
- Round 1, No. 32, Seattle Seahawks: Carragher
- Round 2, No. 33, New York Jets: Edwards
- Round 2, No. 34, Arizona Cardinals: 2 (Crabbs, Reuter)
- Round 2, No. 36, Las Vegas Raiders: A to Z
- Round 2, No. 37, New York Giants: Easterling
- Round 2, No. 38, Houston Texans: 2 (Miller, North)
- Round 2, No. 41, Cincinnati Bengals: 2 (Fanelli, Williams)
- Round 2, No. 42, New Orleans Saints: 2 (Moran, Teets)
- Round 2, No. 44, New York Jets: Draft HQ
- Round 2, No. 48, Atlanta Falcons: Draft Tek
Average Draft Projection: 30.8 (-2.4)
Ohio State’s prospect of tying its school record with five first-round draft picks hinges on McDonald. While McDonald’s invitation to the NFL draft alongside Reese, Styles, Tate and Downs suggests he’s likely to be a first-round pick, he’s not unanimously projected as such, appearing in the first round of just over half (26 of 48) of the mock drafts in this roundup.
All of those mock drafts have McDonald going in the second half of the first round, with the Chicago Bears, Houston Texans and New England Patriots viewed as the most likely candidates to draft him late in Round 1. No mock has McDonald falling outside of the first half of Round 2, so he shouldn’t have a long wait to walk across the stage in Pittsburgh on Friday if he doesn’t hear his name called on Thursday.
Davison Igbinosun, CB
- Round 2, No. 52, Green Bay Packers: 3 (A to Z, Crabbs, Forness)
- Round 2, No. 56, Jacksonville Jaguars: Draft Tek
- Round 2, No. 57, Chicago Bears: Scataglia
- Round 2, No. 59, Houston Texans: Baumgardner
- Round 2, No. 62, Denver Broncos: Edwards
- Round 3, No. 70, Cleveland Browns: Easterling
- Round 3, No. 72, Cincinnati Bengals: Wilson
- Round 3, No. 73, New Orleans Saints: Tankathon
- Round 3, No. 76, Pittsburgh Steelers: Infante
- Round 3, No. 77, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Reuter
- Round 3, No. 79, Atlanta Falcons: 3 (ESPN, Moran, Williams)
- Round 3, No. 80, Baltimore Ravens: Randall
- Round 3, No. 81, Jacksonville Jaguars: DRAFTPLEX
- Round 3, No. 85, Pittsburgh Steelers: Elijah
- Round 3, No. 86, Los Angeles Chargers: Miller
- Round 3, No. 87, Miami Dolphins: Fanelli
- Round 3, No. 97, Minnesota Vikings: Brown
- Round 4, No. 102, Las Vegas Raiders: Iyer
Average Draft Projection: 73.3 (-0.3)
Igbinosun is a near-unanimous choice to be a Day 2 draft pick in multi-round mock drafts, with most of those mocks projecting the Ohio State cornerback to be drafted in Round 3. Just over 20% of the mocks in this roundup with at least two rounds (six of 27) have Igbinosun being selected late in Round 2.
The team viewed as most likely to draft Igbinosun late in the second round is the Green Bay Packers, who have been known to target tall cornerbacks like Igbinosun, who measured in at 6-foot-2 and 189 pounds with 32 7/8-inch arms at the NFL Scouting Combine, where he ran a 4.45-second 40-yard dash.
Max Klare, TE
- Round 2, No. 62, Denver Broncos: 2 (Baumgardner, Scataglia)
- Round 3, No. 68, Philadelphia Eagles: 2 (Infante, Miller)
- Round 3, No. 72, Cincinnati Bengals: DRAFTPLEX
- Round 3, No. 74, Kansas City Chiefs: 2 (Crabbs, Tankathon)
- Round 3, No. 77, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Williams
- Round 3, No. 80, Baltimore Ravens: Iyer
- Round 3, No. 81, Jacksonville Jaguars: 2 (A to Z, Reuter)
- Round 3, No. 83, Carolina Panthers: Draft HQ
- Round 3, No. 85, Pittsburgh Steelers: Draft Tek
- Round 3, No. 87, Miami Dolphins: 2 (Brown, Easterling)
- Round 3, No. 90, Miami Dolphins: ESPN
- Round 3, No. 94, Miami Dolphins: Randall
- Round 3, No. 95, New England Patriots: Edwards
- Round 3, No. 97, Minnesota Vikings: Teets
- Round 3, No. 98, Philadelphia Eagles: Moran
- Round 4, No. 106, Houston Texans: Elijah
Average Draft Projection: 82.0 (-6.8)
Like Igbinosun, Klare is a near-unanimous choice to be a Day 2 pick in multi-round mock drafts, with most of those projections coming in Round 3.
Only two of the 27 mocks in this roundup with two-plus rounds have Klare going in Round 2; both of those mocks connect him with the Denver Broncos, who have the third-to-last pick in the second round. Nineteen of the 22 mocks in this roundup that include at least three rounds have the former Ohio State tight end coming off the board in the first three rounds, which would make Klare the first OSU TE selected in the first two days since Jeremy Ruckert went to the Jets as the 101st overall pick in 2022.
Caden Curry, DE
- Round 4, No. 126, Buffalo Bills: Easterling
- Round 4, No. 138, San Francisco 49ers: 2 (DRAFTPLEX, Randall)
- Round 5, No. 156, Indianapolis Colts: Reuter
- Round 5, No. 165, Buffalo Bills: Edwards
- Round 5, No. 168, Buffalo Bills: Elijah
- Round 5, No. 171, New England Patriots: Miller
- Round 6, No. 183, Arizona Cardinals: Iyer
- Round 6, No. 185, Las Vegas Raiders: Draft Tek
Average Draft Projection This Cycle: 158.9 (-20.6)
Curry is unanimously projected as a Day 3 draft pick in seven-round mock drafts, with his draft projections ranging from Round 4 to Round 6.
The most popular projected landing spot for Curry is Buffalo, where the Bills could bring him in to help replace fellow former Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa, who remains an unsigned free agent after spending last season with the Bills. Two mock drafts have the San Francisco 49ers using one of their fourth-round picks to draft Curry, where he’d join a defensive end rotation led by Joey’s younger brother and another former Ohio State defensive end, Nick Bosa.
Lorenzo Styles Jr., DB
- Round 5, No. 176, Kansas City Chiefs: Miller
- Round 6, No. 181, Detroit Lions: Draft Tek
- Round 6, No. 199, Cincinnati Bengals: Iyer
- Round 6, No. 204, Los Angeles Chargers: Randall
- Round 7, No. 239, Chicago Bears: Edwards
- Undrafted: DRAFTPLEX, Elijah
Average Draft Projection: 216.4 (-28.9)
Most seven-round mock drafts project Styles to be drafted in the latter rounds of Day 3 after he led all defensive players with a blistering 4.27-second 40-yard dash time at the combine. Assuming he is selected, Lorenzo and Sonny will be the pair of brothers who played for Ohio State to both be selected in the same NFL draft.
Will Kacmarek, TE
- Round 5, No. 149, Cleveland Browns: DRAFTPLEX
- Round 5, No. 186, New York Giants: Miller
- Round 6, No. 206, Cleveland Browns: Edwards
- Round 7, No. 242, Buffalo Bills: Randall
- Round 7, No. 257, Denver Broncos: Iyer
- Undrafted: Draft Tek, Elijah
Average Draft Projection: 222.3 (-28)
Like Lorenzo Styles, Kacmarek is projected to be selected in five of the seven seven-round mock drafts included in this roundup. If both of them are drafted along with the eight Buckeyes who are comfortably projected to be selected, it will mark the 10th time Ohio State has had 10 or more players drafted in one year.
Two of those five mock drafts have Kacmarek staying in the Buckeye State and going to the Browns. Kacmarek told Eleven Warriors at Ohio State’s pro day that he made a pre-draft visit to Cleveland, signaling the Browns’ potential interest in him as a Day 3 draft pick to pair with 2025 third-round pick Harold Fannin Jr. at tight end.
CJ Donaldson, RB
- Round 7, No. 223, Washington Commanders: Miller
- Undrafted: Draft Tek, DRAFTPLEX, Edwards, Elijah, Iyer, Randall
Average Draft Projection: 253 (N/A)
ESPN’s Matt Miller has 11 Buckeyes being selected in his mock draft, projecting the Washington Commanders to draft Donaldson – the only other Buckeye who was invited to this year’s NFL Scouting Combine – in Round 7. The other six seven-round mocks in this roundup, however, all have Donaldson going undrafted.
Ohio State has six other draft hopefuls who also participated in last month’s pro day: offensive lineman Ethan Onianwa, defensive tackle Tywone Malone Jr., linebacker Joey Velazquez, kicker Jayden Fielding and long snappers John Ferlmann and Collin Johnson. None of them are currently projected to be selected in any mock drafts, though Onianwa reportedly made a pre-draft visit with the Packers, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
