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In early February, we gave you an early look at Ohio State players’ draft projections and rankings. But after just one month almost to the date, those same players have seen some major movement within their draft stock, most of which isn’t positive movement. While Justin Fields remains a consensus top-10 pick, the rest of the Buckeyes’ potential draftees have seen themselves drop in some of the major big boards and mock drafts, while a select few have managed to climb the rankings.
Again, for comparison purposes, we are going to look at WalterFootball.com, which is one of the few sites to have a five-round mock draft, updated as recently as March 2. We will also be looking at the overall prospect big boards from Pro Football Network, as well as PFF’s big board.
Using data from these three sites, let’s see where Ohio State’s NFL Draft hopefuls currently stand, and where they stood a month ago.
Justin Fields
Mock: No. 2 pick to the New York Jets
PFN: No. 3 QB, No. 6 overall prospect
PFF: No. 3 overall prospect
A month ago
Mock: No. 2 pick to New York Jets
PFN: No. 2 QB, No. 5 overall prospect
PFF: No. 3 overall prospect
Not much movement here. The Jets are almost definitely going to be drafting a quarterback with the second pick, and it’ll be between Fields and BYU QB Zach Wilson. Even if Fields loses that battle, I’d be surprised if he isn’t picked up at No. 3 or No. 4.
Here’s what Walter had to say about his prediction:
“The Jets made a very foolish decision to beat the Rams (and the Browns.) Now, they have a dilemma. Do they select the second-best quarterback in the class or stick with Sam Darnold? Considering that Darnold has shown no signs of becoming a franchise quarterback and has admitted to “seeing ghosts,” it would be best to trade him, especially given that New York will have to pay him a large contract to retain him. It would be smart to move him for a second- or third-round pick.
Justin Fields dominated in his first season at Ohio State. He continued his strong play into the shortened 2020 campaign, aside from sloppy performances against Indiana and Northwestern. He seemed injured in those games, but after a long layoff, he dominated Clemson in the playoff semi-final. Drawing comparisons to Deshaun Watson, Fields should be the second- or fourth-overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.”
Wyatt Davis
Mock: No. 50 pick to Miami Dolphins
PFN: No. 1 G, No. 15 overall prospect
PFF: No. 35 overall prospect
A month ago
Mock: No. 30 pick to Buffalo Bills
PFN: No. 1 G, No. 14 overall prospect
PFF: No. 32 overall prospect
While his Pro Football Network and Pro Football Focus rankings remained pretty steady, Wyatt Davis took a huge dive in Walter’s mock draft, going from the No. 30 pick in the first round to the No. 50 overall pick late in the second. Even ESPN’s Mel Kiper said he does not believe Davis is a first-round pick. However, as Gene wrote in our previous update, NFL teams don’t tend to use high draft picks on the guard position. Nevertheless, he’s still ranked in the top 32 of both the PFN and PFF big boards.
Pete Werner
Mock: No. 89 pick (3rd Round) to Cleveland Browns
PFN: No. 5 OLB, No. 46 overall prospect
PFF: No. 117
A month ago
Mock: No. 66 pick (3rd Round) to New York Jets
PFN: No. 5 OLB, No. 36 overall prospect
PFF: N/A
One thing remains from a month ago when it comes to Pete Werner: no one really knows how to value the linebacker. Walter dropped Werner 23 spots down to the Browns with the No. 89 pick, however he is now ranked on PFF’s big board at No. 117 (out of 299!) after not being ranked at all 30-some days ago. Werner could be one of those shockingly early (and by early, I mean early third round) picks in the draft, as his name has been linked to the Chiefs, Raiders, Eagles and Cowboys, and Kiper called him his “favorite prospect who probably won’t be picked on Day 1.” Or, he could slip through the cracks. Either way, Werner is one of many players who will especially benefit from Ohio State’s pro day.
Baron Browning
Mock: No. 94 pick (3rd Round) to Kansas City Chiefs
PFN: No. 3 ILB, No. 60 overall prospect
PFF: No. 125 overall prospect
A month ago
Mock: No. 95 pick (3rd Round) to Kansas City Chiefs
PFN: No. 3 ILB, No. 53 overall prospect
PFF: No. 97 overall prospect
Another one who didn’t see much movement. While Browning only just earned the starting job last season, the fault was not his own. The Buckeyes’ coaching staff struggled to find a fit for Browning throughout his college career, so the fact that he’s ranked as high as he is despite the lack of film is pretty good. He may be a huge steal for whichever team snags him.
Shaun Wade
Mock: No. 95 pick (3rd Round) to Tampa Bay Buccaneers
PFN: No. 10 CB, No. 81 overall prospect
PFF: No. 122 overall prospect
A month ago
Mock: No. 94 pick (3rd Round) to Tampa Bay Buccaneers
PFN: No. 6 CB, No. 58 overall prospect
PFF: No. 69 overall prospect
While he didn’t move much in the mock draft, Wade saw a major dip in his PFN and PFF rankings. Dropping from the No. 6 cornerback to tenth at his position, and then the No. 69 overall prospect to the No. 122 on PFF’s big board is pretty rough. Again, we all know that the position change to the outside in the 2020 season didn’t help his case, but Wade will have to put on an impressive show at the Buckeyes’ pro day to get himself back up to at least an early third round pick. Currently, NFL scouts don’t have much to go off other than his glaring performances in the College Football Playoff against Clemson and Alabama. But as Buckeye fans, we know the Shaun Wade of yesteryears. If a team uses him to the best of his ability, they’ll have themselves an immensely talented player.
Tuf Borland
Mock: No. 148 (5th round) to Indianapolis Colts
PFN: No. 18 ILB, No. 241 overall prospect
PFF: No. 245 overall prospect
A month ago
PFN: No. 21 ILB, No. 270 overall prospect
PFF: No. 265 overall prospect
Tuf Borland didn’t see a lot of improvement in his PFN and PFF rankings, however he did make it on Walter’s mock draft as the No. 148 overall pick to the Colts.
Tommy Togiai
PFN: No. 5 DT, No. 84 overall prospect
PFF: No. 78 overall prospect
A month ago
PFN: No. 4 DT, No. 74 overall prospect
PFF: No. 77 overall prospect
Tommy Togiai remains steady in his previous rankings, yet still isn’t listed in Walter’s 5-round mock draft. Expect that to change after what is projected to be an impressive pro day performance by the shockingly athletic, 6-foot-2, 300-pound defensive tackle.
Jonathon Cooper
PFN: No. 19 DE, No. 234 overall prospect
PFF: No. 179 overall prospect
A month ago
PFN: No. 24 DE, No. 284 overall prospect
PFF: No. 109 overall prospect
Jonathon Cooper rose in his PFN rankings, but took a hit on Pro Football Focus’ Big Board, which is surprising after his impressive senior bowl performance. While he’s not listed in Walt’s mock, he could easily find himself with a team in rounds four or five.
Justin Hilliard
PFN: No. 15 ILB, No. 216 overall prospect
PFF: No. 62 overall prospect
A month ago
PFN: No. 30 ILB, No. 439 overall prospect
PFF: N/A
This one is my personal favorite. Not only was Justin Hilliard not ranked on PFF’s Big Board, he is now ranked No. 62 (!), and also climbed from No. 30 at his position to No. 15, and from the 439th overall prospect to the 216th on PFN’s rankings. Along with Cooper, Hilliard had (quite literally) a million dollar performance in the senior bowl, causing his stock to sky rocket.
Honorable Mentions
Trey Sermon
PFN: No. 4 RB, No. 67 overall prospect
PFF: No. 147 overall prospect
Josh Myers
PFN: No. 2 C, No. 51 overall prospect
PFF: No. 142 overall prospect
Luke Farrell
PFN: No. 12 TE, No. 279 overall prospect
PFF: N/A
Drue Chrisman
PFN: No. 1 P, No. 194 overall prospect
PFF: N/A
Blake Haubeil
PFN: No. 3 K, No. 413 overall prospect
PFF: N/A