Skull Session: Houston Will Love Kayden McDonald, Jeremiah Smith Could Become the Buckeyes’ 100th First-Round Pick and Lamar Jackson Discovers Braxton Miller’s Ohio State Highlights

By Chase Brown on April 27, 2026 at 4:55 am
Kayden McDonald and his parents
Kirby Lee – Imagn Images
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

Question: Is this good?

Answer: Yes!

Have a good Monday.

Oh, and here's another Rapid Fire Skull Session!

 H-TOWN LOVES K-MAC. I’ve got to start the Monday Skull Session with a special shoutout to Kayden McDonald.

After being one of two players (Tennessee cornerback Colton Hood) invited to the NFL draft but not hearing his name called on Thursday, McDonald accepted commissioner Roger Goodell’s invitation to return on Friday. His decision paid off as the Houston Texans made him the No. 36 overall pick about half an hour into Round 2.

I posted on X after the pick that McDonald is one of the nicest players I’ve covered in my five years on the Ohio State beat. Of course, I’m guessing opposing offensive linemen might describe him a little differently on fall Saturdays.

Either way, this was an incredible moment for the 2025 unanimous All-American, and it’s easy to see why Houston fans are already embracing him.

I wish K-Mac nothing but the best in H-Town.

 ALL IN THE FAMILY. Kayden McDonald’s selection was one of many great moments from the 2026 NFL draft. Here are four more, as Carnell Tate, Arvell Reese, Caleb Downs and Kayden McDonald received “Draft Letters” from their families after landing with the Tennessee Titans, New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans:

If you read last week’s Skull Session — or Eleven Warriors reporter Andy Anders’ feature on Tate — you know what he’s been through. As a freshman at Ohio State, Tate lost his mother, Ashley Griggs, in a Chicago shooting.

Three years later, he’s the No. 4 overall pick in the NFL draft.

That’s the kind of story that makes a grown man cry.

(It’s me.)

(I’m the grown man.)

 “YOU NEXT FAM!” OK, OK, one more great moment from draft weekend: After the Tennessee Titans selected Carnell Tate with the No. 4 overall pick — extending Ohio State’s streak of first-round wide receivers to five straight years — Jeremiah Smith congratulated his former teammate on X. Tate’s response? A prophecy.

Expect anything different?

Smith very well could be the No. 1 overall pick in 2027. As Tim Walton once put it, via Devin Sanchez: “If he falls in the draft, he’ll go two.”

In other words, it’s one of the safest bets out there that Smith makes it six straight for Ohio State wide receivers — and, in the process, becomes the Buckeyes’ 100th first-round pick, extending their lead for the most in college football history. That’ll be quite the moment when (not if) it happens!

 LIKE FATHER, LIKE—WAIT A MINUTE. A not-so-great moment during the NFL draft came when ESPN’s Mike Greenberg said former Washington wide receiver Denzel Boston — the No. 39 overall pick by the Cleveland Browns — is the son of Ohio State legend David Boston.

Yes, that’s real.

Despite sharing a last name (and, to be fair, some elite receiver traits), Denzel and David Boston are not related, but the Worldwide Leader reported it as fact.

To his credit, Greenberg owned the mistake.

“I was waiting for them to come around so I could apologize to Denzel Boston, who earlier tonight I misidentified as being the son of former NFL receiver David Boston,” Greenberg said. “It was a mistake in my research. It’s a terrible one. And I apologize to them both. They are not related to each other. So I apologize to both David and Denzel Boston, and congratulations to Denzel.”

 BRAXTON MILLER, ONE OF ONE. While many of us spent Friday watching Rounds 2 and 3 of the NFL draft, Baltimore Ravens quarterback MVP Lamar Jackson was locked into something far more important: Braxton Miller’s Ohio State hoop mixtape.

Miller thanked Jackson for the love, and the interaction quickly went viral over the weekend.

A two-time MVP and three-time All-Pro, Jackson doesn’t have much left to add to his game entering Year 9 — but hey, mastering a B-button spin move on the sideline or a goal-line hesi couldn’t hurt.

 MY KIND OF SATURDAY NIGHT. Luke Combs continued his My Kind of Saturday Night Tour at Ohio Stadium on Saturday, and at one point, the country music star shotgunned a beer with national champion Ohio State quarterback Will Howard and Columbus Blue Jackets standout Zach Werenski.

You’ll also spot 2026 NFL draft picks Carnell Tate and Sonny Styles on stage with Combs, Howard and Werenski.

Yeah, that’s a pretty strong Saturday night crew.

 NEW DUBCAST. The first Eleven Dubcast of the week discusses the final two days of the NFL Draft relative to the class Ohio State produced for 2026 and answers This Week's Question from the forums about star power.

 SONG OF THE DAY. "Beer Never Broke My Heart" - Beer Never Broke My Heart.

 CUT TO THE CHASE. Meet the baby koala hiding in its mom’s pouch at a Florida zoo’s new Outback habitat… Inside the world’s largest art heist when over $500M of paintings were stolen from a Boston museum… 10 misconceptions about kids sports: How parents can push against them… After being called NFL’s "33rd team," UNC didn’t have one player drafted… Sabastian Sawe wins London Marathon, first to finish in under two hours.

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