{"id":214747,"date":"2025-02-04T12:42:02","date_gmt":"2025-02-04T17:42:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=214747"},"modified":"2025-02-15T22:48:19","modified_gmt":"2025-02-16T03:48:19","slug":"2025-nfl-draft-scouting-report-josh-simmons-ohio-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/02\/04\/2025-nfl-draft-scouting-report-josh-simmons-ohio-state\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Josh Simmons, Ohio State"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Josh Simmons, a 6&#8217;5&#8243;, 310-pound offensive tackle from Ohio State, is one of the top prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft. Simmons&#8217; journey to becoming a potential first-round pick has been marked by consistent growth and impressive performances at both San Diego State and Ohio State.<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025-nfl-draft-profiles\/\" target=\"_self\">More 2025 NFL Draft Profiles<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h2>2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Josh Simmons, Ohio State<\/h2>\n<h3>Measurables<\/h3>\n<p>Height: Six-foot-five<br \/>\nWeight: 310 Pounds<\/p>\n<h2>Background<\/h2>\n<p>Born on December 26, 2002, in San Diego, California, Simmons was a highly sought-after four-star recruit coming out of high school. He initially committed to San Diego State, where he started 13 games at right tackle in 2022 before transferring to Ohio State for the 2023 season. At Ohio State, Simmons quickly established himself as a key player, starting all 13 games in 2023 and continuing his strong play into the 2024 season.<\/p>\n<p>One area that scouts will love is his growth from season to season. In his first season in Columbus, Simmons started off as a liability on the left side of the line. Then, by the time of his season-ending injury, he was playing at an All-American level.<\/p>\n<p>Simmons possesses an ideal frame for an NFL tackle, standing at 6&#8217;5&#8243; with a weight of 310 pounds. His exceptional arm length provides a significant advantage in both pass protection and run blocking. Simmons&#8217; physical attributes are complemented by his impressive athleticism, which is evident in his fluid movement and excellent initial quickness.<\/p>\n<p>Even in his shortened season, Simmons earned Third-Team All-Big Ten honors for the National Championship-winning Buckeyes.<\/p>\n<h2>Strengths<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Refined technique and natural athleticism in pass protection<\/li>\n<li>Closes space quickly on defenders and is a physically imposing, powerful run blocker<\/li>\n<li>Works well with stunts<\/li>\n<li>Athletic enough to pull and lead block<\/li>\n<li>Plenty of experience; played a combined 1,930 snaps before his injury<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Weaknesses<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Is coming off a season-ending injury<\/li>\n<li>Most film in 2024 was against lesser competition in blowouts<\/li>\n<li>Can allow defenders to get the edge<\/li>\n<li>In 2022 and 2023, he was often penalized (he improved this in 2024 but it&#8217;s still a point)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Best Team Fits<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/cardinals\/\" target=\"_self\">Arizona Cardinals<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/ravens\/\" target=\"_self\">Baltimore Ravens<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/chiefs\/\" target=\"_self\">Kansas City Chiefs<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/titans\/\" target=\"_self\">Tennessee Titans<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/washington-commanders\/\" target=\"_self\">Washington Commanders<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/49ers\/\" target=\"_self\">San Francisco 49ers<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Projected Round<\/strong>: First Round (<a  href=\"https:\/\/www.nflmockdraftdatabase.com\/big-boards\/2025\/consensus-big-board-2025?pos=OT\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">OT3<\/a>)<\/p>\n<h3>Josh Simmons in the NFL<\/h3>\n<p>Josh Simmons represents one of the top offensive tackle prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft. His blend of size, athleticism, and technical proficiency make him a potential cornerstone left tackle at the NFL level. While his recent knee injury raises some concerns, Simmons&#8217; overall body of work and consistent improvement trajectory suggest he has the potential to develop into a Pro Bowl-caliber player in the NFL.<\/p>\n<p>Teams looking for a long-term solution at tackle will likely have Simmons high on their draft boards. His versatility, football IQ, and physical tools make him a low-risk, high-reward prospect who could solidify an NFL offensive line for years to come. As the draft approaches, Simmons&#8217; medical evaluations will be crucial in determining his final draft position, but his on-field performance and potential make him a likely first-round selection.<\/p>\n<p>Simmons projects as a potential day-one starter at the NFL level, with the versatility to play either tackle position. His combination of size, athleticism, and technical proficiency makes him an attractive prospect for teams running various offensive schemes.<\/p>\n<p>Simmons is considered a universal scheme fit at the NFL level. His physical abilities and technique allow him to thrive in both traditional drop-back passing offenses and more dynamic, movement-based schemes. He has the anchor and mirror skills to handle power rushers, as well as the agility to deal with speed rushers off the edge.<\/p>\n<p>Several scouts have compared Simmons to Christian Darrisaw of the Minnesota Vikings. Like Darrisaw, Simmons combines excellent athleticism with powerful run blocking and refined pass protection skills.<\/p>\n<p>Main Image: \u00a0Adam Cairns\/Columbus Dispatch \/ USA TODAY NETWORK<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Despite a major injury, Josh Simmons&#8217; NFL Draft hopes of being a first-round pick remain quite alive for the towering left tackle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4051,"featured_media":214765,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1647],"tags":[32605,7811,33233,7638],"class_list":["post-214747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-draft","tag-2025-nfl-draft","tag-chiefs-featured","tag-josh-simmons","tag-ravens-featured"],"modified_by":"Drew Crabtree","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4051"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214747"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214747\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":217240,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214747\/revisions\/217240"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/214765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}