The Ohio State Buckeyes will be very well represented next week at the 2026 NFL Combine.
The Ohio State Buckeyes will be one of the most well-represented universities at next week's 2026 NFL Combine.
Indianapolis has become commonplace for the Buckeyes over the past decade as they have become the premier program for producing legitimate NFL talent year after year. The most impressive part about the Buckeyes is that their players come in ready to play on day one.
The top-of-the-line guys become impact players when they walk into their new building, and this year will be no different.
The Buckeyes top six players that are heading to the draft are all going to be high-level starters, some may even be All-Pros at some point in their careers.
That list starts with edge rusher Arvell Reese. The Ohio native became one of the best stories in college football last season. In his first two years, he was pretty much a special teams player, and then last year, everything changed. Defensive coordinator Matt Patricia used him on the defensive line and at the normal linebacker position, and he was one of the most dynamic players in the country.
Right next to Reese or right behind Reese, depending on where he was lining up, was Sonny Styles. The talented playmaker might be the purest, ready-made NFL player that the Buckeyes are producing this year. Styles plays linebacker with incredible precision and physicality. He is going to be in the running for Defensive Rookie of the Year no matter where he goes.
Behind those two is superstar Caleb Downs. Downs is being regarded by some as one of the best prospects in a very long time. Simply put, Downs is just an elite player. He runs great, covers great, tackles great, leads, and does everything with unrivalled physicality. Downs will make a fanbase very happy.
In front of all of those guys is defensive tackle Kayden McDonald. Similar to Reese, McDonald was a guy who was an unknown to most before the year, then he took the country by storm. He is an incredibly athletic 330-pound player who eats up space in the defensive line.
On the outside, cornerback Davison Igbinosun became an elite cover guy for the Buckeyes. He fought through some penalty struggles to become a guy that quarterbacks avoided. He is a long, lanky build that has very fast straight-line speed and an incredible level of compete. He has the potential to be a very high-quality starter.
If you were curious why Ohio State's defense was so good, that's why.
The lone first-round talent on the offensive side of the ball is wide receiver Carnell Tate. Tate is a very special talent that developed in the shadows of Emeka Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith. Before his injury this year, there were real questions being asked about whether he or Jeremiah Smith was the better wide receiver. He is that good, and wherever he goes, that offense gets better immediately.
Joining those six players are tight ends Max Klare and Will Kacmerek, running back CJ Donaldson, defensive end Caden Curry, and safety Lorenzo Styles Jr.
The Buckeyes 11 attendees are third most behind Alabama's 12 and Texas A&M's 13 players.
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