Scarlet and Game
Fansided

Ohio State Football: Ranking top 5 Buckeyes in NFL

By Ben Swanger

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - OCTOBER 06: Michael Thomas #13 of the New Orleans Saintsand Ted Ginn #19 of the New Orleans Saints celebrate after a touchdown against the 1179424262 at Mercedes Benz Superdome on October 06, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - OCTOBER 06: Michael Thomas #13 of the New Orleans Saintsand Ted Ginn #19 of the New Orleans Saints celebrate after a touchdown against the 1179424262 at Mercedes Benz Superdome on October 06, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 6
Next
Ohio State Football
Ohio State Football /

Cameron Heyward #97 of the Pittsburgh Steelers (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

No. 4 Ohio State Football Player in the NFL:  Cameron Heyward

Veteran defensive lineman Cameron Heyward comes in as the fourth best Buckeye currently in the NFL.

Heyward, like Jenkins, played under Tressel at Ohio State. He played four seasons in the Scarlet and Gray and accumulated 163 total tackles, 37.5 tackles for loss and 15.5 sacks.

Heyward was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2011 Draft as the 31st player off the board. Heyward has spent his entire career in Pittsburgh and has pieced together three straight Pro Bowl seasons.

According to Pro Football Focus, in 2019 Heyward tallied the third most quarterback pressures among interior defenders with 59. On top of that, he was the second highest graded defender in 2019.

Heyward has bounced outside and inside as a pass rusher throughout his career in black and yellow. No matter where he’s aligned, though, he’s produced. Heyward has 117 quarterback hits, 79 tackles for loss and 54 sacks in his nine year career.

In 2017 and 2019 Heyward was named an NFL All-Pro defensive lineman.

PFF named Heyward the tenth the best player in the league in 2019, ranking him ahead of other rushers like Calais Campbell, the Bosa brothers and Arik Armstead. PFF had high praise for the former Buckeye.

"Every season there is a battle to earn the position of the best interior defender in the league not named Aaron Donald. This season, Cameron Heyward raised his hand, and his game, to take that honor."

Heyward played six seasons before breaking out as one of the games premier pass rushers, which is why he’s not ranked higher on this list. With projection of performance, past performance and consistency as criteria, Heyward sits as the fourth best active Buckeye product in the league.

If he continues his consistent dominant performance a statue in Canton might be in Heyward’s future.

Let’s move on to the first offensive player on the list.

Home/Ohio State Football