Opinion in the NFL Draft community is mixed on the Ohio State quarterback, Julian Sayin. The range is from number one overall in PFF’s 2027 mock to a third/fourth round grade from Yahoo Sports’ Nate Tice. Does his tape show a first round pick?
Is Julian Sayin a Legitimate NFL Prospect?
Measureables
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 208 lbs
Statistics
2025: 301 completions from 391 attempts, 3,610 yards, 32 touchdowns, and eight interceptions.
2024: five completions from 12 attempts, 84 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions.
The Tape
Games Watched: at Washington, Penn State, and Miami (playoff quarterfinal).
Strengths
Ohio State likes to establish a strong running game and use play-action passes on the back of this. Julian Sayin is a master of the play-action fake. He sells it well before getting his head up to scan coverages quickly. On quick passes, the fake and release are lightning quick, making it very difficult to defend.
Julian Sayin – fake, ball out quickly = TD. This is the kind of thing he does best.#NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/RqWmqbl4V7
— Paul Emery (@UKDraftFan) May 31, 2026
Sayin’s overall release is quick. His throwing motion is compact, keeping the ball high in the pocket and snapping the ball off quickly and efficiently.
As with many college quarterbacks, Sayin is comfortable throwing from multiple arm angles. Given he’s not that tall, this is essential for Sayin. He looks comfortable, and accuracy does not suffer when dropping down to a sidearm delivery. He’s also comfortable manipulating the pocket to find throwing lanes.
Sayin exhibits an ability to work through progressions, resetting his feet as he does. He takes good care of the football, not being afraid to throw balls away when his receivers are covered.
Overall, Sayin looks in complete control of the offense. Ohio State trusts him to make checks at the line. He’s not looking to the sidelines for answers; he reads defenses and makes audibles accordingly.
Areas to Improve
Sayin’s frame is not the biggest. However, Ty Simpson was 6’1” and 211 lbs at the NFL Combine, which didn’t prevent the Los Angeles Rams from taking him with the thirteenth overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Lacking a prototypical frame, Sayin also lacks an elite arm. He lacks the ability to drive the ball into tight windows. On deep passes, often his receivers have to wait for the ball to get there. This gives defensive backs the chance to recover when beaten by the likes of Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate.
Sayin also needs to speed up his processing and avoid staring down his target before throwing. He is still a young player (a redshirt sophomore in 2026), and this should improve with greater decision-making experience.
When a quarterback completes 77% of their passes, it suggests accuracy is a strength. However, this is spotty with Sayin. Even on shorter passes, his receivers have to slow down or adjust to too many passes. He throws too many balls that the NFL will consider bad passes. There are also a lot of high percentage throws in the Ohio State offense, which should be taken into account when considering his completion percentage against someone like Arch Manning (61%).
The key area to improve for Sayin is under pressure. There are games where he’s kept clean. When he does get pressure, it adversely impacts his game. He’s not the most athletic quarterback, but there’s enough there to get out of trouble. However, his accuracy isn’t as good on the move.
When he gets pressure, he takes too many sacks. He looks a little flustered in his game. Sayin will feel phantom pressure, and his feet get unnecessarily happy. Given his below-average arm strength, when he doesn’t throw from a solid platform, his passes lack zip and accuracy.
Not so good from Julian Sayin here. He has more time than he thinks, but feels phantom pressure. Happy feet time.#NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/pbWugmI0sR
— Paul Emery (@UKDraftFan) May 31, 2026
Key Tests
Julian Sayin will have an early road test in week two, against Texas, in Austin. Another road test, at Iowa, poses a potential hazard in week five before an even bigger game at Indiana in week seven.
After the week eight bye, there are three games that stand out. Straight after the bye, it’s back-to-back tests, with a visit to Southern California and then hosting Oregon. The regular season concludes against Michigan, this year at the Horseshoe.
The full schedule can be found here.
Is Julian Sayin a Legitimate NFL Prospect?
Sayin’s lack of physical traits and elite arm talent mean he’s not a scheme-diverse prospect. Even a Shanahan tree offense has a deep element to the offense, and Sayin is limited in this area.
Carson Beck (first pick of the third round in April, Arizona Cardinals) is a legitimate comparison. Post-UCL surgery, Beck didn’t show the ability to drive the football. However, right now he’s a better processor than Sayin, which partly comes from experience. With that experience and improvements to his ball placement, Sayin projects as this level of prospect in the NFL’s eyes.
Main Image: Adam Cairns / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
