Ohio State head football coach Ryan Day speaks before spring game
Ohio State head football coach Ryan Day previews spring game as he speaks to the media on April 7, 2025
Ryan Day returned the Ohio State football program to its national championship ways this past season with its 2025 College Football Playoff title.
But that isn’t the only thing Day has done in his tenure in Columbus. Since taking over full-time as the Buckeyes‘ coach in 2019, he’s kept the Buckeyes program as a consistent NFL draft powerhouse, highlighted by the current six-year streak in which he’s had at least one of his players taken in the first round of the draft.
A total of 44 Ohio State players have been selected in the NFL draft under Day, with more than a quarter of those (27.2%) being first-rounders.
That success, and streak, is expected to continue in the 2025 NFL Draft for the Buckeyes, starting with the first round on Thursday, April 24 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Here are the best fits for the top Ohio State players in this year’s NFL draft:
Ohio State football players in 2025 NFL Mock Drafts
OT Josh Simmons: Round 1, No. 25 overall to the Houston Texans
USA TODAY’s Michael Middlehurt-Schwartz listed only one Ohio State player in his NFL mock draft, which only consisted of first-round picks, and that was Buckeyes offensive lineman Josh Simmons.
Here’s what Middlehurt-Schwartz wrote on Simmons going No. 25 overall to the Houston Texans:
“Even after adding Cam Robinson and Trent Brown late in free agency, the Texans’ reworking of the offensive line feels incomplete. Selecting Simmons is a step toward establishing a long-term plan, as the 6-5, 317-pounder has all the tools to hold up against NFL speed rushers, though he’s still finding his way on some of the finer points of pass protection and is recovering from a torn patellar tendon.”
DT Tyleik Williams: Round 1, No. 30 overall to the Buffalo Bills
In the USA TODAY Sports Network’s live NFL mock draft, Ohio State defensive tackle Tyleik Williams joined Simmons going in the first round of the NFL draft.
Here’s what the USA TODAY Sports Network’s live NFL mock draft said of Williams going No. 30 overall to the Buffalo Bills from Rochester Democrat and Chronicle’s Sal Maiorana:
“Lackluster defense is what has prevented the Bills from overtaking the Chiefs and getting to the Super Bowl. They have glaring needs at DT and CB, and Williams solves one of those as a big-bodied 329-pound run-stuffing man in the middle of the line, who is one of the best run defenders in this DT class.”
Other Ohio State players eligible for 2025 NFL Draft
Here’s a list of the remaining eligible Ohio State football players for this year’s NFL draft. Projections are based on The Athletic’s Dane Brugler’s seven-round NFL mock draft:
- WR Emeka Egbuka: Round 1 to the Washington Commanders (No. 29 overall)
- RB TreVeyon Henderson: Round 2 to the Chicago Bears (No. 39 overall)
- RB Quinshon Judkins: Round 2 to the Dallas Cowboys (No. 44 overall)
- OT/G Donovan Jackson: Round 2 to the Miami Dolphins (No. 48 overall)
- EDGE JT Tuimoloau: Round 2 to the Detroit Lions (No. 60 overall)
- EDGE Jack Sawyer: Round 3 to the Chicago Bears (No. 72 overall)
- DT Ty Hamilton: Round 3 to the Arizona Cardinals (No. 78 overall)
- S Lathan Ransom: Round 4 to the Philadelphia Eagles (No. 134 overall)
- QB Will Howard: Round 5 to the Las Vegas Raiders (No. 143 overall)
- CB Denzel Burke: Round 5 to the Philadelphia Eagles (No. 164 overall)
- C Seth McLaughlin: Round 5 to the Buffalo Bills (No. 169 overall)
- LB Cody Simon: Round 6 to the Dallas Cowboys (No. 204 overall)
- CB/S Jordan Hancock: Round 6 to the Dallas Cowboys (No. 211 overall)
Top Ohio State Buckeyes NFL draft prospects of all time
Using Pro Football Reference as a database, Ohio State has had a total of 90 players taken in the first round of the NFL draft since the first NFL draft back in 1936.
Three former Ohio State players have gone No. 1 overall in program history. The first Buckeyes to be taken with the top overall pick was linebacker Tom Cousineau in 1979 to the Buffalo Bills; then came defensive tackle Dan Wilkinson in 1994 to the Cincinnati Bengals; and then finally tackle Orlando Pace to the then-St. Louis Rams in 1994.
If Simmons goes in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, he will be the highest drafted Ohio State offensive lineman since Paris Johnson went No. 7 overall in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft to the Arizona Cardinals. He’d also extend Ohio State’s streak of a player taken in the first round to 10 consecutive drafts. The Buckeyes have had 10 first-round picks since 2020.
