Ohio State Football: Will defense produce a first-rounder next year?

When you look through the history of the Ohio State football program, you see a ton of great players on both sides of the ball. Both the offense and defense usually produce at least one first-round pick in a given season. That’s how good the program historically is.

That hasn’t been the case in the last few seasons. While the offense has still brought in and developed elite talent, the defense has not. This draft will be the third draft in a row that the Buckeyes have produced a first-round talent on the defensive side of the ball.

The last time that the Ohio State football program produced a first-round pick on defense was in 2020 when they had three of them in Chase Young, Jeff Okudah, and Damon Arnette. Since then, there has been a whole lot of nothing from the defense.

Will that change in the 2024 draft? Looking at the season ahead, the Buckeyes must play better on defense to get over the hump. Defense is what cost them a national championship last season. They do have some talented players and a few of them might have a shot at a first-round grade.

J.T. Tuimoloau is the first one that stands out. His epic game against Penn State showed what kind of force he can be. With Zach Harrison gone, he won’t have to rotate out at the defensive end position anymore. He can be a full-go there as the best defensive end.

Opposite of him stands Jack Sawyer. He could get that grade with a monster year too. He showed last year that he can get back and cover some players too, so he could be a stand-up linebacker in a 3-4 scheme at the next level if he needs to.

Tommy Eichenberg came back this year to be a first-round pick. His athleticism is the biggest thing holding him back from getting that grade. He was extremely productive last year. Another year of putting up stats like that might change some scouts’ minds.

Those are the only guys on defense who have a chance to be first-rounders in 2024. We’ll see what happens.