The 2021 NFL Draft is just days away, and to the surprise of just about nobody, Ohio State is expected to have another formidable class to say the least.
We won't know exactly where the chips will fall for every soon-to-be professional former Buckeye until the draft wraps up on Saturday evening, but there is plenty of speculation from analysts, experts and pundits on all corners of the internet before then.
If you're looking to get a good grasp on exactly where each Scarlet and Gray prospect might fall though, look no further. We here at BuckeyeGrove have sifted through a number of mock drafts, and selected five recent seven-round projections from esteemed outlets to compile here in our mock draft tracker.
Our list features information from the mock drafts at Sporting News, CBS Sports, Walter Football, Drafttek and Lines, which each have anywhere from nine to 11 Buckeyes getting drafted this season. Check it out below, and then head over to the Horseshoe Lounge to chime in with your own pre-draft thoughts and considerations.
Historical perspective
Back in February we took a look back at the largest NFL Draft classes in Ohio State history, and four of the five mock drafts we've examined here would see 10 Buckeyes hear their name called this weekend. That number would tie the 2020 group for the seventh-largest in Buckeye history, and if 11 Ohio State players are selected, as suggested by Lines and Sporting News, it would join just six other groups.
On only four occasions have more than 11 former Buckeyes been selected in the same draft, with 12 taken in 2016, 13 in both 1971 and 1975, and the standard-bearing year being 2004, when 14 were drafted.
Potential first-rounders
It does not, however, appear likely that the 2021 group will surpass last season's in terms of first-round selections. After Chase Young, Jeff Okudah and Damon Arnette were all selected on the first night last year, only Drafttek sees a second Buckeye joining quarterback Justin Fields in the first round, projecting Wyatt Davis to go No. 23 overall to the Jets.
Drafttek was also the only mock draft of the five to place Fields in the top three picks, which now appears unlikely with a report from NFL insider Ian Rapoport Sunday stating that the 49ers –– which possess the third pick –– are focusing on Trey Lance and Mac Jones for their selection.
However, none of the five mock drafts saw Fields sliding lower than No. 9 overall, where Sporting News had the former five-star prospect out of Georgia going to Denver.
Discrepancies
Fields' projection appears the most consistent across the board, but most other Buckeyes in this year's class were pegged to go within around a three-round range.
Three names have a little less consistency across the mock draftboards though, and all three could be playing linebacker at the next level.
Former Buckeye defensive end Jonathon Cooper, who said at Ohio State Pro Day that he would switch to outside linebacker as he transitions to the NFL, is projected to be taken in all five mock drafts. However, the outlets hardly agree on where he will land, with Sporting News slating Cooper to go as high as Round 4, and three others having him taken in the final round.
Long-time starting middle linebacker Tuf Borland could be selected all the way up at Round 5 according to Walter Football, but CBS Sports has the Illinois native going undrafted altogether.
Justin Hillard may be the most unpredictable of all, as he went undrafted in three different projections, but landed on Lines' mock draft as a late third-round pick, and a fifth-rounder per Sporting News.
