Ohio State football is no stranger to having their players drafted in the first round, and in the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft it will be no different.
Ohio State football has put out their fair share of first round picks in recent years, and this year is no different. Leading up to the 2020 NFL Draft, Ohio State football has four potential first round picks waiting in the wings as the second ranked Buckeyes continue to pursue their National Championship aspirations this season.
With speed and talent all over the field, the Buckeyes have been dominating both sides of the football all season long, beating the likes of Cincinnati, Wisconsin, and Michigan State along the way. With their toughest tests still ahead, well after this week’s matchup with Rutgers, as the Buckeyes still have Penn State and Michigan on their schedule before the Big Ten championship game (presumably against seventh ranked Minnesota barring an upset).
Dominating both sides of the football, this Ohio State football program continues to churn out draft prospects. In the past, the likes of the Joey Bosa, Nick Bosa, Darron Lee, Eli Apple, Marshone Lattimore, Gareon Conley, Denzel Ward, Taylor Decker, Ezekial Elliott and more have gone in the first round.
Here are four prospects in the 2020 NFL Draft from the Ohio State football program who are either first round locks already, or could sneak into the back part of the first round this upcoming Spring.
2
Chase Young EDGE
Without a doubt, Ohio State edge rusher Chase Young is a first round lock, and it would be criminal if he even slipped out of the top three in the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft. Young has been dominant all season long and is this writer’s top player in the country, sitting atop the big board.
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While Young was served a two game suspension for taking money from a family friend to fly his girlfriend to the Rose Bowl last year, here are a list of reasons this will effect his draft stock in the eyes of NFL scouts and teams:
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Correct. This suspension has zero bearing on Young’s player profile for the 2020 NFL Draft. In fact, teams may view Young’s suspension as a blessing in disguise as he missed last week’s game against Maryland, and is set to miss this week’s matchup against Rutgers (two games where Ohio State could play their backups and win handedly).
The Buckeyes will get Young back for the homestretch that consists of all ranked opponents in the previously mentioned Penn State, Michigan, the Big Ten championship game, and potentially the College Football Playoffs. With a top five grade from this writer, Young is a dominant specimen, and the term does not get thrown around lightly, but he is a generational talent.
Looking like a top 15 lock at the very least, depending on how the board falls, is star cornerback Jeffrey Okudah. Listed as the top cornerback in this 2020 NFL Draft class, Okudah has elite footwork off the line of scrimmage, combine with great hand usage that make him a dominant press coverage cornerback.
Standing at 6-1 and 200 pounds, Okudah is bigger and stronger than he appears on film, and it is evident by his ability to bully receivers at the line of scrimmage and track with them stride for stride down the field. Okudah also has elite ball tracking ability, evidenced on film and also by his box score numbers of three picks and four passes defended at this point in his 2019 campaign.
On film Okudah looks like the best draft eligible cornerback in the nation, and the NFL Scouting Combine could only further prove that should he test off the charts in Indianapolis in March. Following the likes of Eli Apple, Marshone Lattimore, Gareon Conley, and Denzel Ward to hear their names called in the first round in recent years, Okudah looks like the next Buckeye to receive this honor.
Is this Ohio State football program DBU? They definitely have the resume to make a case. Speaking of which…
That’s right, just as it was in 2017 when Lattimore and Conley both went in the first round, Okudah and Shaun Wade could also both hear their names called in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Yeah, I think it is safe to assume that Ohio State, if they are not DBU, then they are the runner-up to LSU.
There may not be a Buckeye to see his draft stock rise higher this year than Wade, who is in just his second season as a significant contributor to the Silver Bullets. A defense that went from giving up a handful of massive plays a game a year ago has turned into a machine and one of the best units in the nation.
As a redshirt freshman a year ago, Wade recorded 27 solo tackles, three interceptions, seven passes defended, and forced a fumble. His first season in action, where he did not see the field for a large portion of the time early in 2018, and Wade stuffed the stat sheet. This year, Wade has not tallied a pick, but has been flying around the field, recording 12 solo tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks off the edge, one forced fumble, and six passes defended.
Teams are going to fall in love with Wade’s versatility to play inside or outside the numbers, to tackle in the open field, disguise himself on the blitz, and still make plays in the passing game defensively. It would not be a shock to see Wade sneak into the first round.
2
J.K. Dobbins RB
J.K. Dobbins has absolutely vaulted his draft stock upwards with his performance in this 2019 season for the Ohio State football team. The only problem: he plays running back, a position with the shortest shelf life of any position, and a position where only one or two players get taken in the first round.
Dobbins has, however, played his way into the conversation as one of the top running backs in this year’s draft class, and this writer has him currently ranked as the second running back behind only Georgia’s D’Andre Swift. No longer sharing carries with last year’s draftee Mike Weber, Dobbins has taken over as a bellcow and proven that he can carry a heavy workload.
He has already eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark on the season on the ground, doing so in all three seasons with the Buckeyes, and is averaging over seven yards per carry and has scored 11 touchdowns. He is not asked to do it often, but when asked to catch the ball out of the backfield, Dobbins has displayed soft hands and good catch comfortability, making him an asset at the next level.
He does not have the speed of Travis Etienne, but Dobbins is a more well rounded back than the Clemson running back, which is why he is ranked as the second running back on my board. Ohio State will keep feeding Dobbins the football this season, and he is playing his way into a healthier check come this Spring and could potentially hear his name called at the end of round one.