The Ohio State football program is losing quite a lot of depth on the offensive side of the ball. Five receivers from this year's team will be elsewhere next season. That leaves them with very little wiggle room when it comes to suffering injuries during the 2026 season.
While the Buckeyes have gotten a pair of tight ends to commit from the Transfer Portal, keeping key players from this year's team is still paramount to their success as a unit next season. Max Klare is a big part of what they were able to do, as he was a First Team All-Big Ten performer.
With the Ohio State Buckeyes getting a couple of commitments from tight ends out of the portal, it seemed likely that Klare was going to head to the NFL early. Unfortunately for them, that's exactly what he has decided to do, as he has officially declared for the 2026 NFL Draft.
Ohio State tight end Max Klare declares early for 2026 NFL Draft
Klare ended up playing only one season with the Buckeyes after starting his career with the Purdue Boilermakers. With him gone, Julian Sayin has now lost one of his best playmakers, which is unfortunate as he heads into his second year as the starting quarterback.
Without Klare on the roster, that leaves just Jeremiah Smith and Brandon Inniss as pass-catchers who played a significant role in the offense that will be back next season. This was expected from the Buckeyes, but it still hurts to see Klare leave ahead of next year.
Klare did really good things in his one year with the Buckeyes. He could be a day-two pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, so this was the right decision for him. Ohio State will scour the portal to see if they can add at least one more receiver in the portal to help out Sayin next season.