COLUMBUS, Ohio — With the rumor-filled circus that is the NFL draft approaching on Thursday, the only certainty in the NFL right now seems to be this: Ohio State will have a heavy presence in Chicago at this weekend’s selection show.
With more than 70 percent of Ohio State’s starting lineup and nine underclassmen having departed from last year’s team, as many as 14 ex-Buckeyes could wind up hearing their names called by the end of this weekend. And while it still has yet to be determined how many former Ohio State stars are drafted and where each will land, there may not be a bigger enigma in the bunch than Braxton Miller.
“The two wild cards are Cardale Jones and Braxton,” Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer said last month. “They’re the ones that don’t have enough tape.”
In the case of Jones, the question marks are obvious. Is a player with just 11 starts as a quarterback in his college career worthy of not only a draft pick but also one day becoming the face of a franchise? And if so, how soon is too soon to take him?
Miller’s situation, however, is a little more complicated—and perhaps more likely to bring a much higher upside.
Truth be told, if Miller had it his way, he might be preparing not for the draft but rather his second season in the NFL right now. That was the plan two years ago as the 2013 season drew to a close, before a vicious hit in the Orange Bowl brought the then-Buckeyes quarterback’s junior season to an unceremonious end.
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Continue Reading: Is Braxton Miller Worthy of an NFL Draft 1st-Round Pick?
