Draft content is starting to heat up, and the hype around the Buckeyes is just going to get bigger and bigger.
We have our first top-50 big board for the 2026 NFL Draft, and as you can imagine, there were Buckeyes everywhere on this list.
Ohio State's top-end talent is second to none in all of college football, and it will be proven out as the draft process continues.
Day in and day out, there is another Buckeye who is dominating that day's draft hype. One day, it is people discovering that Sonny Styles is the next Luke Kuechly, the next day is comparing Caleb Downs to Ed Reed. Soon, the draft experts will uncover how good Carnell Tate really is and that he was in the shadow of two superstars the past two seasons.
On Thursday, I found one of the first top-50 big board, and the top of it is simply just Buckeyes. Sonny Styles checks in as the top prospect, while Downs is just two spots behind him, and Reese is two more spots lower.
Then, Tate checks in at No. 11 and Kayden McDonald rounds out the Buckeyes' list at No. 23.
If four of the first five players selected in the draft were Buckeyes, I don't think anyone would bat an eye, and certainly no one could argue it.
That is the fascinating part about the draft: many will agree with this ranking, but they will all get drafted in a crazy order.
The likely scenario is that Reese is going to go No. 2 to the Jets, Tate will go No. 5 to the Giants, while Downs and Styles will go somewhere between No. 9 to the Chiefs and No. 15 to the Bucs.
The reality is that for another year, Ohio State is presenting the best prospects available at the top of the draft.
The Draft process is really going to pick up over the course of the next three weeks, once the NFL Combine hits at the end of February, and then all of the Pro Days start to slot in after that.
Don't be surprised when the entire NFL is represented at Ohio State's March Pro Day, where all of their guys will get a chance to work out in their own practice facility in front of all of the NFL Scouts.
Expect Ohio State to dominate the top of the draft and then start appearing late on Day Two and sprinkle in on Day Three. It is likely that 13 players from last year's team will find an NFL Home and next week at the Combine, 11 of them will get the chance to work out.
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