The Ohio State 2022 draft class started taking form only hours after the 2021 NFL Draft.
The Buckeyes had ten players drafted in 2021, but only Justin Fields went in the first round. In the 2022 draft, the projections indicate that there will be more Buckeyes represented on the first day.
I found five mock drafts for 2022, from ESPN, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report, Touchdown Wire, and Walter Football. Each of these drafts featured multiple Buckeyes, though they differed in total number and order. Four names kept popping up, so the mocks combined to form a pattern that could nearly be predictable.
Of course, a lot can change between now and this time next year. Some players will move up, and some will move down. But as of right now, the 2022 draft will be filled with Ohio State standouts.
The Ohio State 2022 Draft Class: A Way Too Early Projection
The Mock Drafts
First of all, it’s important to talk about the various mock drafts. Each publication came up with its own method of determining the order of the draft. For ESPN’s draft, Todd McShay even included trades.
That is important to note because needs will influence the decisions each team makes. So each publication will naturally have different players going at different spots as a result.
While the exact order will not be known until December, each player landed in a range of five spots. We’ll get into that below.
It is also important to note that only the first round will be taken into account here.
The Players
Four Ohio State players showed up consistently in the 2022 mock drafts. There was one player who showed up in only one, and that was Haskell Garrett. He was the 31st pick in B/R’s mock draft, so he just barely squeaked into the first round. The other four showed up in most of the five mocks.
Chris Olave
The senior receiver was the first Buckeye off the board in four of the five mocks. Only in Walter Football’s did Chris Olave drop out of the first round.
McShay mocked him going 12th in ESPN’s version, which was the highest he was selected. The lowest he was picked in the first round was at 17. Among the four mocks that had him in the first round, Olave’s average draft position (ADP) was 13.75.
If these mocks hold true, Olave will be the first Buckeye picked and one of the first wide receivers taken in the draft.
Sevyn Banks
Ohio State will continue their tradition of sending a defensive back to the NFL in the first round. Cornerback Sevyn Banks appeared in the first round in ESPN’s, CBS’s, and Walter Football’s drafts. He was the first Ohio State player picked in Walter Footballs at 12th. ESPN had him at 14th, while CBS had him at 17th.
Banks had an ADP of 14 among drafts that mocked him going in the first round. This makes him the highest sought-after defensive player out of Ohio State, and not far behind Olave. Banks would make a nice addition for Ohio State’s case to be called DB University.
Zach Harrison
If there’s a position other than defensive back that Ohio State regularly pumps into NFL pipelines, it’s defensive end. Zach Harrison is next in line.
Over the four mocks that featured Harrison, the junior had an ADP of 23. Harrison went as high as 19th and as low as 26th, showing that the NFL expects him to be a late first-rounder.
Following in the steps of Chase Young and the Bosa brothers, Harrison will be the next link in the chain. Jack Sawyer, who will be a true freshman in the Fall, will be the next great Buckeye defensive end after Harrison.
Garrett Wilson
The Ohio State wide receiver room is crowded, which shows why Jameson Williams wanted to take his chances in the transfer portal. Garrett Wilson will join Olave in the first round but will go a few picks later.
Wilson had the widest range of possible destinations, going from 17th overall in B/R’s mock to 30th in CBS’. B/R had Wilson going only four picks after Olave, but most publications think he’ll go later. His ADP was 24, so that indicates that he will be a late first-rounder.
By the look of it right now, Ohio State will have four first-round picks. There are others that will probably go in the second, such as Garrett, Thayer Munford, or Master Teague. Ohio State will look to send 10 players to the NFL for the third year in a row in 2022.
