Over two years, the Ohio State Buckeyes football team compiled a 26-4 record and won a College Football Playoff National Championship. While Ryan Day and his coaching staff deserve credit for their success, the players play a big role in those achievements.
Beating some of the best programs in the nation improved the stock of the draft-eligible Buckeyes players. These highly touted athletes could help Ohio State make history in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Four Ohio State Buckeyes Could Be Selected in the Top 10 of the 2026 NFL Draft
According to the PFSN’s Mock Draft Simulator (MDS), four former Ohio State players could be selected within the top 10 picks of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Arvell Reese, the second-most selected player in the MDS, has an average draft position (ADP) of 2.7. Based on this number, the 2025 Big Ten Linebacker of the Year could land with the New York Jets or the Arizona Cardinals. Reese is also a consensus All-American who finished his junior year with 69 tackles (10 for loss), 6.5 sacks, and 2 passes defended.
Meanwhile, Carnell Tate is the fourth-most selected player with an ADP of 7.1, which corresponds to the Washington Commanders’ first-round pick. Regarded as the best wide receiver prospect in the 2026 draft, the second-team All-American collected 875 yards and 9 touchdowns in only 11 games.
Sonny Styles, Ohio State’s first-team All-American linebacker, is the fifth-most selected player with an 8.1 ADP. During his senior year, Styles collected a team-leading 82 tackles, 3 passes defended, 1 sack, and 1 interception. In his NFL Draft guide for The Athletic, Dane Brugler listed “outstanding pursuit speed to cut off outside run angles” as one of Styles’ strengths.
Finally, Caleb Downs is the ninth-most selected player with an ADP of 10.1. The 2025 Jim Thorpe Award winner and the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year had 68 tackles (5 for loss), 2 forced fumbles, and 2 interceptions. The defensive captain is also a first-team All-American who was hailed as the Big Ten’s Defensive Back of the Year.
If the draft follows the MDS’s results, Ohio State will be the first team to have four players selected within the top 10 picks of a draft. It’s another crowning achievement for a team that finished fifth in the final Associated Press poll for 2025.
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Which College Football Team Holds the Record for Most Top-10 NFL Draft Picks?
Reese, Tate, Styles, and Downs going in the top 10 will break the record currently held by the Alabama Crimson Tide. Three of their players were among the first 10 picks in the 2021 draft, starting with sixth overall pick Jaylen Waddle, who is now with the Denver Broncos.
Coincidentally, he will be teammates again with 2024 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II, whom Denver chose with the ninth overall pick. Wide receiver DeVonta Smith, the 2020 Biletnikoff Award winner, went 10th overall to the Philadelphia Eagles.
