Ohio State Football: C.J. Stroud, Jaxon Smith-Njigba shine in workouts

Former Ohio State football players have descended upon Indianapolis for the Combine. The Buckeyes that had some on-field workouts yesterday included C.J. Stroud and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Stroud is trying to be the number one overall pick. JSN is trying to just get into the first round.

JSN would have had a case to be the number one receiver taken off the board had he not gotten hurt this past year. He hardly played in 2022 because of a hamstring injury. There are questions about whether or not he can stay healthy and whether or not one great year is enough to prove to NFL teams that he deserves to go in the first round.

JSN had a chance to catch some passes from his former Buckeye teammate. It was the first time that he had a chance to do that since he briefly appeared in the Iowa game. Smith-Njigba impressed scouts with his route-running and his hands. Stroud also impressed.

Stroud showed off his arm strength and his accuracy. Something that his counterpart Bryce Young did not. Young was only weighed yesterday and did not participate in any of the on-field workouts. That gave Stroud a chance to impress scouts enough to give him the extra push to be that top pick.

There is still time for Stroud to continue to impress NFL scouts as well. The interviews are one of the most important parts of the Combine process. Stroud will get to share with teams why he thinks he should be the first quarterback taken. He mentioned already that he didn’t want the Bears to take him because Justin Fields should still be the QB there.

Hopefully, those interviews entice a team to trade up for that number-one pick for him.