All Ohio State Football players available for day three of the NFL draft

There was speculation heading into the 2023 NFL Draft that Ohio State football player Dawand Jones was falling down draft boards due to not performing at the NFL combine and Ohio State’s Pro Day. There were also rumors swirling that Jones had gained too much weight and wasn’t taking the process seriously. Now those rumors, whether they are true or not, have come home to roost as Jones’ name wasn’t called in the second or third round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Jones, who finished his career at Ohio State football having only given up a pair of sacks during his playing time, was expected by many to go in the second round. There were even some draft experts who predicted he might sneak into the end of the first round. Now that day three is upon us and he sits available, whoever decides to pick up the largest human being to have ever worn the scarlet and grey at Ohio State will be getting tremendous value at this point in the draft.

The other Buckeye who people were looking to be selected on the second day of the NFL Draft was center Luke Wypler. Although it’s not as big of a surprise as Jones given the fact that some experts believed Wypler would be a late third or fourth-round selection, it is a surprise that so many centers were selected in front of him on day two.

Wypler was thrust into the starting center position a year earlier than expected in 2021 when Harry Miller was unable to play. Not only did Wypler perform better than expected, but he played well enough over the past two seasons to be given a second-day grade by the NFL Scouts, which no doubt influenced his decision to forgo his fourth season at Ohio State and enter his name into the 2023 NFL Draft.

Much like Jones, getting Wypler in the fourth round can be considered getting great value at this point in the draft. Given his experience and how well he performed on some of the biggest stages in college football, you have to think that a franchise will view him as someone who can give tremendous depth and someone who will eventually take over the starting center position in the future. He is one of the youngest guys in the draft, as well as one of the smartest as a two-time Academic All-Big 10 lineman.

Other Ohio State football players who should get their names called at some point in day three (rounds four through seven) are defensive backs Ronnie Hickman and Cam Brown. Hickman led the team in tackles in 2021 and could have left for the NFL when his stock was higher, but decided to come back to college for a fourth season.

The switch to Jim Knowles’ safety-driven style of defense was expected to highlight Hickman even more, but given Ohio State’s increased production from the linebacker position, there were fewer tackles for Hickman to gobble up in 2022. Hickman could hear his name called at any point today.

As for Brown, some are questioning if he will even get drafted due to his inability to stay healthy. When he was healthy, Brown performed well enough to get drafted, but the issue of whether or not to invest in someone who may or may not be available to play on any given Sunday is something teams are debating. Someone will look at his upside during the later rounds of the draft and decide to pull the trigger.

There are three other Ohio State football players who have a chance at getting drafted, but more than likely will end up being undrafted free agents who can sign with the franchise with the best situation for them. Tanner McCalister has seen his name in the sixth or seventh round in about half of the Mock Drafts but is also absent on many as well.

For McCalister, it will all depend on whether a team liked his film and workout on Ohio State’s Pro Day well enough to take a flyer on him late. Both Taron Vincent and Noah Ruggles found their names late on a mock draft or two, but the consensus among the experts is that they will go undrafted.