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NFL Draft 2021 wrap-up: Recap, takeaways and notes

For the second-straight season, 10 Buckeyes were selected in the NFL Draft.
For the second-straight season, 10 Buckeyes were selected in the NFL Draft. (USA Today Sports)

Draft season is officially over, and to no one’s surprise, the Scarlet and Gray were well-represented once again with another stacked draft class over the weekend.

No collegiate team produced more draftees than Ohio State in the 2021 NFL Draft, and before we dive into some historical notes and other assorted odds and ends from the weekend’s happenings, here’s a reminder of exactly when and where each Buckeye was selected in the past few days:

Buckeye draft order

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Round 1, pick 11: QB Justin Fields (Chicago Bears)

Round 2, pick 60: LB Pete Werner (New Orleans Saints)

Round 2, pick 62: OC Josh Myers (Green Bay Packers)

Round 3, pick 86: OG Wyatt Davis (Minnesota Vikings)

Round 3, pick 88: RB Trey Sermon (San Francisco 49ers)

Round 3, pick 105: LB Baron Browning (Denver Broncos)

Round 4, pick 132: DT Tommy Togiai (Cleveland Browns)

Round 5, pick 145: TE Luke Farrell (Jacksonville Jaguars)

Round 5, pick 160: CB Shaun Wade (Baltimore Ravens)

Round 7, pick 239: DE Jonathon Cooper (Denver Broncos)

OSU ties Bama for most players selected (10)

Ohio State turned in another double-digit draft class over the weekend, with 10 players hearing their name called to equal the exact total from last year’s draft.

While such a number may seem exceedingly less surprising for the program, 10 ties 2020 for the seventh-best draft class in Buckeye history in terms of sheer volume of players selected, and the only other school to produce as many draftees this year was Alabama.

The SEC set a new all-time record with 65 total picks in the 2021 class, leading all conferences for the 15th consecutive season, but with the Buckeyes turning in the same total as the Crimson Tide, the Big Ten put forth a respectable 44 for second-place.

After Fields’ first-round selection, it took a while to get the ball rolling for Ohio State on Day Two, with the second and third Buckeyes not coming off of the board until Werner and Myers were taken in the final five picks of the second round.

However, by the end of the second day, six Buckeyes had already heard their name called, setting a strong pace before four more former Ohio State players were selected on Day Three.

Fields becomes third-highest drafted OSU QB

Fields was taken with the No. 11 overall pick on Thursday.
Fields was taken with the No. 11 overall pick on Thursday. (Ohio State Dept. of Athletics)

Despite the pre-draft narratives that have been discussed ad-nauseam, the decorated former Buckeye quarterback did not fall quite as far as some of his more vocal naysayers thought he might on Thursday.

Chicago Bears GM Ryan Pace and company traded up from pick No. 20 to No. 11 to nab Fields, who did fall out of the top 10 after once being considered a surefire top five pick, but not as far as No. 15 to the Patriots, or ever further, as some predicted he could.

RELATED: Can Fields play Day 1? ‘Sure’ says Ryan Day, but needs to develop

The selection of Fields in the first round marks the second time in the past three seasons that a Buckeye quarterback has been taken on Day One, with Dwayne Haskins going No. 15 overall to Washington in the 2019 draft. If you include 2020 No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow, another former Buckeye, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day now has three former pupils that have seen a first-round selection in as many years.

Only two Buckeye quarterbacks have ever been taken higher than Fields was this year, and it’s been nearly 40 years since either of those occurrences took place.

In the 1941 NFL Draft, the Bears took Buckeye quarterback Don Scott with the No. 9 overall pick, and Art Schlichter went No. 4 overall to the Baltimore Colts in 1982.

Shaun Wade slides all the way to Round 5

Had Shaun Wade left school to become NFL draft eligible following his redshirt sophomore season with the Buckeyes in 2019, many thought he may have been a borderline first-round pick.

Instead, Wade elected to return to Ohio State and move from the slot corner position to the outside, a decision that some experts and analysts thought could boost him up to top 15 territory if all went well.

After a disappointing eight-game slate in 2020 though –– even after being named an AP All-American and the Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year –– Wade slid all the way down to Round Five, becoming the ninth Buckeye to be selected out of the class.

In Wade, the Baltimore Ravens added another Buckeye to their growing list, having selected both linebacker Malik Harrison and running back J.K. Dobbins in the 2020 NFL Draft.

However, Wade’s drastic slide on the draft board could certainly serve as a cautionary tale for future Buckeyes or draft prospects in general, as the Florida native and former five-star recruit no doubt left money on the table with his decision to return for a fourth year with the Buckeyes in 2020, despite the obvious success he achieved with his teammates in a run to the national championship game.

5th round Farrell selection surprises

In our BuckeyeGrove Mock Draft Tracker just a couple days before festivities kicked off in Cleveland on Thursday, we had 11 Buckeyes marked down as having a solid chance of being drafted this year.

Not among those 11 names was long-time Ohio State starting tight end Luke Farrell, who has flown under the radar despite possessing elite blocking skills at his position, and likely in large part due to the lack of eye-popping pass-catching stats on his resume.

However, with his former head coach now running the show in Jacksonville, Urban Meyer surprised a lot of viewers by selecting the Perry, Ohio, native with the first pick of the fifth round.

Farrell was the first and only Buckeye that Meyer selected for the Jaguars, and given that many expected the Ohio State veteran to be scooped up in free agency after the draft, his selection was a feel-good story over the weekend.

Only 2 of 4 LBs hear their name called

Pete Werner was the second Buckeye off the board during this year's draft.
Pete Werner was the second Buckeye off the board during this year's draft. (Ohio State Dept. of Athletics)

Prior to draft day, we wrote about the possibility that the 2021 Ohio State draft class could make history in regards to the linebacker position.

Pete Werner, Baron Browning, Tuf Borland and Justin Hilliard were all vying for selection, and if all of them heard their names called, it would have been the first time in Buckeye history that four OSU LBs were all taken in one year. In fact, even if only three of them were selected, 2021 would still have been among a handful of other Ohio State draft classes to see three linebackers taken in a single year.

However, after Werner was the second Buckeye selected in the draft and Browning was taken in the third round, neither of the other two Ohio State linebackers heard their names called. As we’ll discuss down below though, Hilliard, Borland and a few other Buckeyes will have their shot to make a team nonetheless after signing deals as undrafted free agents.

5 Buckeyes sign as UFAs

Tuf Borland was not drafted, but he will have a chance to make an NFL team nonetheless.
Tuf Borland was not drafted, but he will have a chance to make an NFL team nonetheless. (Ohio State Dept. of Athletics)

Not every eligible Buckeye was drafted this weekend, but that disappointment couldn’t last long for most of them, as five different Ohio State players signed on with NFL teams as undrafted free agents.

As we alluded to above, both Borland and Hilliard will have a chance to show their wealth of experience and leadership at the next level, as the former signed with the Vikings, and the latter with the 49ers.

A couple of special teams standouts also signed deals on Saturday, as former Ohio State kicker Blake Haubeil is on his way to Tennessee, and punter Drue Chrisman will have a shot with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Farrell may have been the only Buckeye tight end to be drafted this weekend, but teammate Jake Hausmann got a chance with an NFL team as well, as the former OSU TE signed with the Detroit Lions following the draft.

All in all, 15 Buckeyes wound up with NFL organizations in one way or another in the past several days, with 10 being selected in the draft, and five signing in free agency shortly thereafter.

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