Former Ohio State Buckeye defensive tackle Kayden McDonald sounds off on Day One of the NFL Combine.
The mics were hot in Indianapolis on Wednesday as the first round of players took the podiums and spoke to the NFL media for the very first time in their young careers.
Day one of media availability featured the specialists, defensive linemen, and linebackers. For Ohio State, the Buckeyes were very well represented with the likes of Sonny Styles, Arvell Reese, Kayden McDonald, and Caden Curry.
Three of those four guys are going to be first-round picks, while Curry is likely going to have to wait to hear his name called come April.
Regardless, the Buckeyes were the Bell of the Ball on Wednesday, and McDonald made the biggest statement of them all. When asked about himself, he had this to say:
I believe that I am the best defensive tackle in this draft class. My consistency was over every game, I raised my level of play every game. In the biggest games, I played my best.
No lies were told there by McDonald as he had to make a name for himself this season. He came into the year as an unknown player for the Buckeyes and is leaving it as a legitimate first-round pick.
To do that, you can't just show up against the bad opponents; you have to show up each and every week, and McDonald did exactly that throughout the 2025 college football season.
In the games against the best opponents, McDonald stood out. Stats are typically unfair to defensive linemen because their impact can't be measured by tackles and sacks; however, McDonald breaks that mold.
When matched up against the likes Texas, Washington, Penn State, Michigan, Indiana, and Miami, McDonald had a combined 41 tackles, two sacks, and one pass breakup. He was a menace, and whoever gets their hands on McDonald is getting a legit playmaker.
The outlook for Kayden is somewhere in the late first round, which is exactly where he wants to go. He has been heavily projected to be the selection of the Chicago Bears at pick No. 25, and that would be an incredible fit.
Not only would he join a defense that needs a bit of foundational help, but he would enter an organization that is ready to win and ready to win right away.
One of the curses of being too good is that you get drafted to a team that may not be ready to win. For McDonald, he might get lucky enough to avoid that.
McDonald is a player who is high character and one who will immediately improve whatever team he is drafted to. It will be fun to see where he goes as he is the best defensive tackle available in this NFL Draft.
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