Congratulations to the 14 Ohio State players selected in the 2025 NFL Draft, as well as the 3 players who were signed immediately afterwards as undrafted free agents. I freely admit to devoting last Thursday and Friday evenings, as well as last Saturday afternoon, to watching and wondering where these former Buckeyes would wind up for their respective immediate NFL futures. Too bad so much of the broadcasts were devoted to analyzing and scrutinizing the eventual selection of one player who was drafted on Saturday afternoon, but I am digressing.
As I wrote last week, the 2025 NFL Draft was an exercise in patience, especially for the players involved in the process. Below are some random thoughts I have about how everything unfolded.
- A First-Round Flurry: Emeka Egbuka was the first Ohio State player selected at pick 19 in the first round by Tampa Bay. Minnesota followed up at pick 24 in the first round by drafting Donovan Jackson, then Detroit selected Tyleik Williams at pick 28, with Kansas City selecting Josh Simmons at pick 32 to conclude the first round. All four of those players were projected to be high selections, but I must confess that I did not anticipate all of them to be first round draft choices. Even better for those players is the fact that all of them were selected by teams that were in the NFL playoffs last season.
- A Buckeye To A Brown: I wrote about this in the aftermath of Ohio State’s Pro Day at the end of March, but a frustration I have long held was how the Cleveland Browns would often bypass talented Ohio State players in the NFL Draft. This year, the Browns addressed a critical need at the running back position and selected Quinshon Judkins on day two of the NFL Draft with the fourth pick of the second round. Would I have liked the Browns to have selected even more Buckeyes? Absolutely, but I was certainly pleased with the selection of Judkins, whose physical running style should endear him to fans of the Browns, especially later in the season when running the ball becomes critical during the cold weather games.
- Doubling Up: The Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers identified some Buckeyes that they believe will be able to help their teams, with the Cardinals selecting Cody Simon (4th round) and Denzel Burke (5th round), while the Steelers selected Jack Sawyer (4th round) and Will Howard (6th round). I believe @TonyGerdeman defined it well for Steelers fans.
- Favorable Free Agency Opportunities?: Ohio State came ohsoclose to tying the record held by Georgia with 15 selections in the NFL Draft, and would have if not for the lamentable late season injury sustained by Seth McLaughlin last November that impacted McLaughlin’s draft status. Fortunately, McLaughlin signed as an undrafted free agent in the immediate aftermath of the NFL Draft with Cincinnati, while Josh Fryar (Arizona) and Gee Scott, Jr. (New England) were also signed. While recognizing the disappointment of not being selected in the draft, all three of these players have an opportunity to make their respective teams. Considering how former Ohio State offensive line coach Justin Frye is now the offensive line coach at Arizona, it may be worth keeping an eye and ear open for how Josh Fryar is doing when NFL training camps open up later this summer.
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