Pete Werner taken with the No. 60 pick by the New Orleans Saints

Pete Werner became the first defensive player from the 2020 Ohio State roster to be selected in the 2021 NFL Draft on Friday.

Werner, a senior linebacker in 2020 after entering the Buckeye program as a four-star prospect in 2017, has climbed up draft boards in recent weeks, and landed in the second round with the 60th overall selection by the New Orleans Saints.

Werner was just the second Buckeye taken in the draft, after Justin Fields was selected with the No. 11 overall pick by the Chicago Bears on Thursday.

At Ohio State Pro Day back on March 30, Werner ran an impressive 4.58-second 40-yard dash, and his vertical jump measured in at an eye-popping 39.5 inches. The 6-foot-2, 238-pound linebacker notched 20 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press.

A three-year starter at Ohio State, the Indianapolis native played Sam linebacker for the Buckeyes in 2018 and '19 before switching to Will in 2020, which wound up being his most productive campaign on a per-game basis.

Despite a shortened eight-game schedule in 2020, Werner's team-leading 54 total tackles were just 10 shy of his career-high mark of 64, which he registered over a 14-game slate in 2019.

Werner earned first-team All-Big Ten honors from the conference coaches this season, tacking on a sack, 2.5 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles onto his statistical totals for the year.

Werner finished his Ohio State career having been a part of four Big Ten Championship-winning Buckeye teams, having tallied 185 total tackles for his career, to go along with 16 tackles for loss and four sacks.

Werner was among a group of four Ohio State linebackers that declared for the NFL Draft following the 2020 season, joining Baron Browning, Tuf Borland and Justin Hilliard. If all four are drafted, it would mark the first time more than three Buckeye linebackers were taken in the same class.