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Pre-Combine NFL Mock Draft has 4 Ohio State football stars going in the Top 10

It's going to be another special night for the Buckeyes
ByCorey Long|
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Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker Arvell Reese (8) leaves the field following the NCAA football game against the Ohio Bobcats at Ohio Stadium on Sept. 13, 2025. Ohio State won 37-9.
Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker Arvell Reese (8) leaves the field following the NCAA football game against the Ohio Bobcats at Ohio Stadium on Sept. 13, 2025. Ohio State won 37-9. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The 2026 NFL Draft is expected to be a three-day advertisement for the success of Buckeyes football. Similar to last year's draft when seven players from Ohio State were selected in the first 45 picks, there will be a lot of Buckeyes coming off the board early and often.

There's still a big question mark about where they will be selected, but Hayden Winks of Underdog Network believes that as many as four Buckeyes will be off the board in the first two hours. 

WInks has Buckeye linebackers Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles going in the top five with Reese mocked to the Jets and Styles joining him in Gotham, but heading to the Giants. After that it's Caleb Downs to the Rams at seventh and wide receiver Carnell Tate to the Chiefs at No. 9.

Recent NFL Mock Draft has four Buckeyes landing in the top nine

If the draft goes to form for Winks', Ohio State would increase its number of all-time first-round selections to 99, but would fall short of the most first-round picks by a single school, which is six by Miami in 2004 and Alabama in 2021. 

However, four picks in the top nine is something special. Going back 30 years, Ohio State had three players selected in the top 10 of the 2016 Draft (Joey Bosa, Ezekiel Elliott and Eli Apple) and few other schools did as well (Penn State in 1995; Oklahoma remarkably had three of the first four players taken in the 2010 Draft), but four in the top nine is a special draft. 

Reese has probably been the most intriguing player in this year's draft. It's almost universally agreed that he is clearly a top-10 talent and the best off-ball linebacker prospect in the draft. But could he be a full-time edge rusher in the NFL or, as Winks suggests, will work best as an off-ball linebacker that can be walked up to the line. Tate is also in a battle with Makai Lemon to be the first receiver selected. This mock has Lemon going eighth overall to the Saints.

The NFL Combine begins Tuesday with interviews and the on-field workouts start Thursday and expect many eyes to be on the former Buckeyes. 

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