Buckeyes Big First Round?

On Monday, we saw Ohio State wide receiver Garrett Wilson announce his intentions to skip his team’s Rose Bowl matchup with the Utes to prepare for the 2022 NFL Draft. As a few of his teammates follow suit, it becomes less and less likely that Wilson will be alone in hearing his name called on the night of April 28th.

As Monday night crept on, we saw tweets from offensive tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere (Twitter), wide receiver Chris Olave (Twitter), and defensive tackle Haskell Garrett (Twitter) all echoing Wilson’s intentions. Surprisingly, Wilson, the highest projected pick of the four, was the only one not named First-team All-Big Ten this year.

Olave joins Wilson as a potential first-round receiver this year. Wilson’s 12 touchdowns and Olave’s 13 touchdowns are both good for top-7 in the nation. Their combined 25 receiving touchdowns are good for second-most in the country for a receiving duo, behind only Western Kentucky’s Jerreth Sterns and Mitchell Tinsley who combined for 31. If both receivers are picked in the first round this year, Ohio State would join Alabama as the only two schools with two receivers picked in the first round of the same draft since 2007, when both Ohio State and LSU accomplished this feat. Alabama has done it twice, consecutively: in 2020 with Henry Ruggs and Jerry Jeudy and last year with Jaylen Waddle and DeVonta Smith.

Petit-Frere and Haskell are more likely day two prospects, but they are frequently considered to have an early-second-round value. Between the Combine, Ohio State’s Pro Day, and the unpredictability of the draft, it’s certainly not out of the question that Buckeyes could be four of the first thirty-two names called on that Thursday night in late-April.