Carnell Tate selected No. 4 overall to the Tennessee Titans, Arvell Reese goes No. 5 to the New York Giants, Sonny Styles selected No. 7 by the Washington Commanders, Caleb Downs goes No. 11 to the Dallas Cowboys.
The Buckeyes have already accomplished something in the 2026 NFL draft that hasn’t happened in 59 years – and only three times ever.
One year after Ohio State tied its school record with 14 NFL draft picks (one fewer than the overall record), including a draft-high four first-round picks, the Buckeyes outdid themselves in 2026.
With the selections of Carnell Tate (No. 4 overall, Titans), Arvell Reese (No. 5 overall, Jets), Sonny Styles (No. 7 overall, Commanders) and Caleb Downs (No. 11 overall, Cowboys) on Thursday night, Ohio State is the first team in 59 years to have four top-11 picks in a single draft, joining Michigan State (1967) and Notre Dame (1946). The Buckeyes are the first school in the common draft era to have three defensive players selected in the first 11 picks of a single NFL draft.
Only one of those four Buckeyes was a senior, and Styles was only a senior because he enrolled at Ohio State one year after reclassifying from the 2023 recruiting class to 2022.
“That to me speaks a lot about the development here," Ryan Day said following OSU's pro day on March 25. "Sonny reclassified, but you talk about Carnell, you talk about Caleb, you talk about Arvell, you talk about Kayden (McDonald), but those guys are all juniors. So, for them to be ready the way they are right now in three years, again, says a lot about what we do. And this is a big part of what we sell.
"I mean, you talk about the expectation of being in Ohio State, what comes with this, playing in front of the big guys. The fact that we're held to a very high standard for how we do things. We're the face of the university," the head coach continued. "That translates really well to the end result. We have just under 12 million fans here. And so, there's a lot that comes with that. These guys understand that. And again, held to a high standard. So, they understand what that's like, being in an NFL-type city. So, I think it's easy for organizations to look at our guys and project what they're going to look like going on, you know, to their teams. But it's also the schemes. You know, we're both, you know, on offense and defense, NFL schemes."
"Developed Here" is a slogan that Ohio State uses. But "Reload – not rebuild" could be a good one, too. This NFL draft has already proven that, yet again.
While Ohio State has already had four players selected in the first 11 picks of the 2026 NFL draft, plenty of other Buckeyes are expected to hear their name called tonight through Saturday. Eleven Warriors for all of your draft coverage.
