How Is The NFL Draft Shaping Up For The Buckeyes?

The NFL Scouting Combine is in the rearview mirror with Ohio State’s Pro Day and the NFL Draft still ahead.

15 Ohio State players attended the combine in Indianapolis while there are 17 players who are draft eligible and are expected to take part in Pro Day in one form or another.

It truly is a 12-month a year calendar when it comes to the NFL, when we are not talking about games, we are talking about free agency or the draft or something else involved with the nation’s most popular sports league.

Mock Drafts and player analysis are big business. Not only just for the draft but also for Fantasy Football, a behemoth on its own.

That’s why we caught up with Jeff Bell of FootbllGuys.com to talk a little bit about the upcoming April draft in terms of what it means for Ohio State players.

There are a lot of questions about who the first Buckeye off the board may be, and names like Josh Simmons, Donovan Jackson and Emeka Egbuka have all been mentioned.

“When you’re really looking at positional value, we know NFL teams are just desperately needy for these tackle prospects,” Bell said of Simmons.

If you are not a quarterback, a cornerback, or an edge rusher, it can be difficult to crack into some of those top spots in the draft with where positional values are in the eyes of the league in current football.

“I still would probably make an argument for TreVeyon Henderson to be the best player there, if not Donovan Jackson,” Bell said. “You just have to be the lead of the elite to crack in the first round outside of those positions.”

Something that stood out from the combine for Bell was the time that Quinshon Judkins put up in the 40-yard-dash. Going into the event he had Henderson rated ahead of Judkins, but now it may not be as clear for teams.

“He goes out and he flashes in the athletic testing to a level that surprised a lot of people,” Bell said of Judkins. “It does seem like the momentum is pushing Judkins relative to Henderson.”

Another side plot that Ohio State fans will be watch is the fates of Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau, both highly successful defensive ends with the Buckeyes, both having nearly identical grades from NFL.com, but still two different players.

“I think J.T. Tuimoloau will be the first one off the board between the two of them because just a little bit of a twitchier player,” Bell said.

Lastly, where does Will Howard fit into everything? It is a weak quarterback class nationally, but Howard did not have his best throwing session at the combine.

“(Howard’s) a little bit more of a game accuracy player than like a practice accuracy type of a player that can feel it a little bit more in, in the flow of a game,” Bell added.

Check out everything else discussed in our 48-minute interview here on the Big Me Kickoff as we get you ready for the draft. Keep it locked in here at BuckeyeHuddle.com for all the latest.