Ohio State set a record in the 2004 NFL draft, in which it had 14 total players selected, the most picks ever from one school in a single selection meeting.
The University of Miami, whose team the Buckeyes had beaten 15 months earlier in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl/BCS National Championship Game, also set a record in the 2004 NFL draft: The Hurricanes became the first team to have six first-round picks in a single draft.
Twelve years later, in the 2016 NFL draft, Ohio State will have a shot to challenge both of those records.
Coming off a victory in the inaugural College Football Playoff, Ohio State is in a similar position to where it was a dozen years ago.
The Buckeyes had no first-round picks in the 2015 NFL draft—just as they did not after winning the championship in 2003—and only five total selections. That’s because the vast majority of Ohio State’s top talents were underclassmen who returned to school.
As a result, Ohio State has the most talent-laden roster in college football by a wide margin.
Even after the upcoming season, there will still be many players who face NFL decisions. Only a few of Ohio State’s star players are seniors; most of them are either juniors with two years of eligibility remaining or redshirt sophomores with three years of eligibility remaining.
For the purposes of this article, we’ll assume all of Ohio State’s draft-eligible players will at least consider making the jump to the NFL in 2016. And if a large number of them end up…
Continue Reading: Ohio State’s 2016 NFL Draft Class Could Be Historically Great
