3 Ohio State football players who fell too far in the NFL Draft

Shaun Wade would have been a first-round pick had he decided to come out after the 2019 season. At worst, he would have been a second-round guy. But he decided to come back for 2020 and try to win a national championship. He couldn’t quite accomplish that goal.

Wade did have a bit of a down year in 2020. His move from the slot-corner position to the outside didn’t quite work out as well as he would have hoped. He struggled in the Penn State game and the national title game against Alabama.

Despite all of this, Wade was still chosen as a consensus First-Team All-American. He was named the best defensive back in the Big Ten and was expected to be a third-round or early fourth-round pick in this draft. Instead, Wade fell all the way to the fifth round.

Wade played most of this year injured. He had a turf toe injury that he got surgery on after the season was over. He toughed it out because the Buckeyes needed him. Not only that, but he didn’t have a normal offseason to prepare for a season that didn’t start until October.

Baltimore decided to take Wade and end his slide. I have a feeling that Wade is going to make a lot of people regret passing on him. He will likely play the slot-corner position early in his NFL career. He is most effective there. Eventually, he will become more comfortable playing outside. Wade should have been a high fourth-round pick at the absolute worst.

Our next player on this list was also a consensus All-American and still slid down draft boards.