All rookies seek to make an immediate impact at their new NFL franchise after hearing their name called in the NFL draft. Eight of Ohio State’s 11 draft selections will have a fantastic chance to see the field right away.
In another successful draft for the Buckeyes, those eight were selected on the first two days, or the top three rounds, in other words. Four earned first-round selections: Carnell Tate (No. 4 overall, Titans), Arvell Reese (No. 5 overall, Giants), Sonny Styles (No. 7 overall, Commanders) and Caleb Downs (No. 11 overall, Cowboys). Four followed on day two: Kayden McDonald (No. 36 overall, Texans), Max Klare (No. 61 overall, Rams) Davison Igbinosun (No. 62 overall, Bills) and Will Kacmarek (No. 87 overall, Dolphins); with three selected on the final day of the draft in Lorenzo Styles Jr. (No. 172 overall, Saints), Caden Curry (No. 214 overall, Colts) and Ethan Onianwa (No. 231 overall, Falcons).
Several factors beyond talent level and draft grade determine whether a rookie can make that instant difference to an organization. How far along they are in their development, how deep the position room they’ve been drafted into is and how weak their team was in the area a prospect specializes.
Weighing all those considerations, we’re ranking all 11 Buckeye draftees by their ability to make a large, immediate impact for the teams that picked them. Emphasis on immediate. Here goes:
1. S Caleb Downs (Cowboys)
Downs might have been the fourth player off the board from Ohio State and the 11th overall in the draft, but he could be the most pro-ready of the 257 men selected through last Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Dallas is relying on him to be.
The Cowboys were the worst passing defense in the NFL in 2025, last in both passing yards allowed per game (251.5) and opposing yards per pass attempt (7.7). They did some work to address that issue in free agency, signing a quality veteran safety from the Cardinals in Jalen Thompson and taking a one-year flyer on former Rams cornerback Cobie Durant. Downs could step in and be their best safety this season, though. In fact, it’s probably more likely than not.
“It comes easy to him,” Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said on Friday. “It comes natural. I think you grow up in a football family, you've been around it. You've been exposed to it. But again, I think I said last night, one of the things we're so excited about is, it's not just him being able to process it. It's him being able to share and really command or demand that the guys around him are all on the same page. Great communicating is what leads to great defense. And that's the thing that you see in his personality. He does not have a problem taking charge.”
Downs can slide into any of three positions for Dallas, be it his most natural free safety, strong safety or nickel. Often praised for being an extra coach on the field for Ohio State’s defense, it won’t take him long to pick up on NFL schematics and showcase the ball knowledge and instincts that made him a lethal weapon for the Buckeyes the last two years, alongside his fantastic physical gifts. He’ll make myriad plays in both pass coverage and run support.
Positional value is one of the reasons the Jim Thorpe Award winner was available at No. 11 for the Cowboys to trade up and snatch. It’s rare safeties get tabbed as franchise-shifting players. But Dallas is searching for its first playoff appearance in three years, and Downs could perhaps be the top thing it needs: A culture change in the secondary. He’ll get to prompt alongside another former Buckeye in veteran safety Malik Hooker.
2. LB Sonny Styles (Commanders)
Styles in style pic.twitter.com/RYr4OCpsED
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) April 28, 2026
Another team that needed a defensive culture shift this offseason was Washington, and the Commanders took Downs’ fellow Ohio State captain with the No. 7 overall pick to help initiate that surge in their third year under coach Dan Quinn.
Washington finished 2025 ranked dead last among the NFL’s 32 teams for total defense (384.3 yards allowed per game). The Commanders balanced their lack of production between run and pass defense, where they finished No. 29 and 27 across the league. They needed a new centerpiece to keep building around.
Styles fits that mold. He played linebacker all of two years at Ohio State after converting from safety – defensive backfield experience that proved valuable at times in 2024 and 2025, honestly – but secured a combined 182 tackles with 17 tackles for loss, seven sacks, an interception and eight pass breakups across the two seasons. He earned first-team All-American honors from the Sporting News in 2025.
Linebacker was also a big need positionally for Washington in its 3-4 base defense, where Styles will occupy one of the two inside linebacker spots. Future Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Bobby Wagner left the Commanders in free agency ahead of his age-35 season, and he leaves a void of production to fill after collecting 162 tackles, eight TFL, 4.5 sacks and two interceptions in 2025.
Styles is only matched by Downs in his ability to articulate the game of football. He’s a freak athlete to match his freaky production, as many recall from his record-breaking NFL Scouting Combine performance in February. And, this can’t be emphasized enough: Despite all his success, Styles has still played just two seasons at linebacker. There’s more potential to tap into, and he’ll get a chance right away.
“When I came in this building, you guys (general manager Adam Peters and Quinn) talked about just scratching the surface,” Styles said at his introductory press conference in Washington on Friday. “You talked about how there's so much more to unlock. And I see it. I see the vision. I'm excited to be here. I've been telling everyone this is where I wanted to be. So I'm super excited to be here and just can't wait to get to work.”
3. WR Carnell Tate (Titans)
There’s a chance either Tate or Reese makes this list look foolish for having them third and fourth in 2026. Both players can be instant stars, even more so Tate, but two things hold him back just a touch when compared with Downs and Styles: The Titans have a quiet bit of receiver depth and their offensive line might make it tough for quarterback Cam Ward to deliver the ball downfield.
There’s no doubting Tate’s talent. He had excellent production with 51 receptions for 875 yards and nine touchdowns in just 11 games playing alongside Jeremiah Smith in 2025. His route running created separation out of nowhere. He spaced defenses out as a vertical threat. He had two of the strongest hands in college football.
The 100th catch of Carnell Tates Ohio State career, and it might be his best one yet: pic.twitter.com/8JvM9f1rIa
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) October 18, 2025
Tate’s refined technique is pro-ready. However, Tennessee has options if he needs time to acclimate to the NFL level, as many do. When healthy, Calvin Ridley has enjoyed a fantastic career resurgence since returning from his year-long gambling suspension in 2023, rattling off back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons in 2023 and 2024 before injuries robbed him of 10 games from his 2025 season. At age 32, there could be something left in the tank for Ridley with the Titans this year. Fellow wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson, meanwhile, is on the come-up after a breakout 2025 with the Giants, catching 92 passes for 1,014 yards and nine touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Tennessee’s offensive front allowed the sixth-most sacks in the NFL last season, surrendering 3.3 per game. Starting right guard Kevin Zeitler, a 15-year veteran, departed in free agency and the Titans’ prospects to replace him are frightening. The current projected starter there is Cordell Volson, who drew the ire of Bengals fans for three years before missing all of 2025 in Tennessee due to a shoulder injury.
The team’s tackles were wanting in 2025 and it is set to be the same duo in 2026: Dan Moore Jr. and JC Latham. Tennessee does possess one of the better left guards in the league in Peter Skoronski and added a quality center in Austin Schlottmann through free agency, but didn’t address offensive line in the draft until Round 5 with Arkansas guard Fernando Carmona.
If Tate is setting defensive backs on fire right away and establishes himself as Tennessee’s true No. 1 wide receiver, it should mitigate some of those offensive line concerns. Pressure always beats coverage, however, so there are hurdles to clear for him to become an instant star.
4. LB/EDGE Arvell Reese (Giants)
Reese was the second Ohio State player to come off the board in the 2026 NFL draft for a reason. His ceiling as an edge rusher, one of the most premium positions out there, is likely the highest of all draft prospects. There’s a strong chance it takes a year for him to get there, though. The Giants have great depth on the edge, even with Kayvon Thibodeaux on the trading block for 2026 and posting cryptic messages to his Instagram story.
Kayvon Thibodeaux on IG just now: https://t.co/cKX2WEIPWG pic.twitter.com/w1iVCSpeab
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) April 24, 2026
Outside Thibodeaux, the Giants hold an elite edge-rushing outside linebacker similar to Reese’s mold in seven-year veteran Brian Burns, fresh off a career-high 16.5-sack campaign for New York in 2025. Abdul Carter, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft, played in all 17 games with six starts and recorded four sacks opposite Burns at outside linebacker. 33-year-old Roy Robertson-Harris brings experience to the more traditional hand-in-the-dirt defensive end position, though he had just 35 tackles and no sacks as a starter last season.
Reese’s highest value and upside come off the edge, but Burns and Carter create a lot of competition at outside linebacker as Reese is still learning the basics of pass-rush moves. Where he could bring the biggest impact to this year’s Giants is at off-ball linebacker. The interior spots better fit his experience to this stage, even if New York is likely to move him around as Ohio State did in 2025, where he collected 69 tackles with 10 TFL and 6.5 sacks en route to first-team All-American honors.
A nose for the football, unreal burst, strength and versatility made Reese one of the highest-graded prospects in the 2026 NFL draft. There will probably be a bit of a ramp for him to reach his incredible potential, however, so his impact might be less immediate than his fellow Buckeye first-rounders.
5. DT Kayden McDonald (Texans)
It’s hard to project the No. 36 overall pick in the draft to have a larger instant impact than the No. 5 overall pick, but it nearly happened. McDonald is a large man, after all.
McDonald is an instant wall on run defense anywhere. He was one of the best collegiate run defenders this decade in his third and final year at Ohio State. His production as a nose guard still boggles the mind: 65 tackles, nine TFL, three sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He was the highest-graded run defender in the country by a wide margin, per Pro Football Focus, at a gaudy 91 run defense grade. His overall grade was 86.2, and though he had just 15 total pressures in the pass rush, he helped collapse pockets on quarterbacks for others to clean up.
This video of Kayden McDonald and his nephew could make a grown man cry. (Its me. Im the grown man.) pic.twitter.com/pHaGh97pHO
— Chase Brown (@chaseabrown__) April 25, 2026
McDonald will, at worst, be a quality run defender with potential to be a generational one. Improvement as a pass rusher could make him one of the NFL’s best nose guards, period. But the Texans already have a great defensive front, finishing No. 4 in rushing yards allowed per game (93.7) and No. 6 in yards allowed per carry (4) in 2025. They were the No. 1 total defense in the NFL, surrendering just 277.2 yards per contest.
However, Houston lost starting defensive tackle Tim Settle in free agency, plus depth at the position in Mario Edwards. Starting three-technique defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins returns for his 11th NFL season, a steady hand with 35 tackles, five TFL and three sacks in 2025. McDonald will contend with fellow former Buckeye Tommy Togiai to start at nose guard, but should be involved in Houston’s rotation in any case.
Downs and Styles can turn the tide of defenses that struggled in 2025. McDonald is a reload for a defense already at the top of the sport, but it’s clear what his immediate impact could still be.
6. CB Davison Igbinosun (Bills)
"Come up here and be you."@DaveIgbinosun gets the call. pic.twitter.com/K5wYNXIuwM
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) April 25, 2026
A big part of Igbinosun’s ongoing development was cutting back on penalties, and he did that last season, which is part of what vaulted him into the second round. He went from 16 flags against him in 2024 to five in 2025. His length and athleticism otherwise give him great value as a cover corner, blanketing receivers to allow just a 47.8% completion rate and 4.5 yards per target when attacked in the passing game. He picked up 53 tackles, two interceptions and eight PBUs.
The Bills had the No. 1 total pass defense in the NFL in 2025, allowing just 156.9 yards per game through the air. But a lot of pieces from that secondary are gone.
Safeties Taylor Rapp and Jordan Poyer rotated as starters after the former got injured, and both departed from Buffalo in free agency. It traded away a rotational starting cornerback in Taron Johnson to the Raiders and lost a few depth pieces there as well. Starting corner Tre’Davious White is a free agent, but is in active talks to re-sign with Buffalo.
That’s where Igbinosun can slide into a starting role, especially if White doesn’t come back, though the Bills added their likely starting nickel in free agency with Dee Alford. Christian Benford returns as another starting cornerback from that elite 2025 secondary, but there’s a path to the field at a high-value position for Igbinosun.
7. TE Max Klare (Rams)
The Rams wouldn’t spend a second-round pick on a tight end unless they thought there was a lot of potential impact, and they were clearly taken by Klare’s receiving skill shown over the past two years at Ohio State and Purdue. Los Angeles coach Sean McVay ran multi-tight-end packages at a 40.1% clip in 2025, so even with some of the Rams’ depth, there will be opportunities.
There is competition for Klare at tight end, though. Colby Parkinson is likely Los Angeles’ No. 1 tight end as Klare develops, fresh off a breakout 2025 with 43 receptions for 408 yards and eight touchdowns. Tyler Higbee has been a Rams mainstay for a decade, though his last two seasons have been hindered by injury as he nears retirement. In the 10 games he played last year, he did rack up 25 receptions for 281 yards and three scores.
Los Angeles even drafted another tight end in the second round in 2025, Terrance Ferguson, who had 11 receptions for 231 yards and three touchdowns last year. It’s a deep room for Klare to contend with at one of the sport’s most developmental positions, which is why his breakout season is probably a year or two down the road.
8. TE Will Kacmarek (Dolphins)
Will Kacmarek is ready to work pic.twitter.com/JZqrxxBaOl
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) April 25, 2026
The margin between Kacmarek and Klare for instant impact potential is slim. Klare has receiving upside for the Rams this year, while Kacmarek has a defined role heading into Miami that gives him both a respectable ceiling and floor: The No. 2 tight end on the team as a blocking specialist.
Greg Dulcich emerged as the Dolphins’ top tight end in just 10 games in 2025, with 26 receptions for 335 yards and a touchdown in that limited timeframe. But Kacmarek held to his billing from Ohio State tight ends coach Keenan Bailey as the best blocking tight end in college football last season. New offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik ran multi-tight-end packages at just a 34.7% rate his last time calling plays for Houston in 2024, but there’s a clear rotational spot for Kacmarek.
9. DB Lorenzo Styles Jr. (Saints)
Styles, a Round 5 pick of New Orleans, lands the highest of Ohio State’s day three picks due to his ability to make an impact on special teams immediately. He recorded the Buckeyes’ first kick return touchdown in 15 years this past season and ran a blazing 4.27-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. The Saints signed former Colts safety Julian Blackmon to fill Styles’ preferred nickel spot, but he’ll give them some depth there and at corner, too.
STYLES KICK RETURN TOUCHDOWN TO THE @OhioStateFB
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 16, 2025
:NBC pic.twitter.com/n2n2mmHQQu
10. DE Caden Curry (Colts)
Curry grew up a handful of minutes from Indianapolis, and his hometown team picked him up in Round 6. There are a lot of bodies in front of him at defensive end for the Colts, including top edge rusher Laiatu Latu, veteran free agent signee Arden Key and former Ohio State teammate JT Tuimoloau, their second-round pick in 2025.
11. OG Ethan Onianwa (Falcons)
Atlanta took a seventh-round flyer on Onianwa as a developmental prospect after he moved to guard and failed to crack the starting lineup at Ohio State in his final year of college football, following his transfer from Rice. He’s got intriguing physical tools the Falcons hope they can hone if he makes their roster this year, but he won’t have much chance to impact things in 2026.
