This year’s NFL draft figures to be a lot like most of the modern era. There’s going to be a parade of Ohio State players hearing their names called. All told, there are fourteen draft-eligible Buckeyes all on the board, and although not all will likely get the call, most will.
If you’ve looked at the multiple mock NFL drafts out there from seemingly everyone that has a computer, there’s only one OSU player expected to go in the first round, quarterback Justin Fields. However, whether that happens or not remains to be seen.
Regardless, there’s sure to be plenty of scarlet and gray in the middle to late rounds and you may be wondering how all of those players are graded out. Well, good for all of us then that the NFL.com has a database that assigns grades to prospects. It works like this.
9.00-10 — Once in a lifetime player
8.00-8.99 — Perennial All-Pro
7.50-7.99 — Future All-Pro
7.00-7.49 — Pro Bowl to All-Pro ability
6.50-6.99 — Good NFL starter with Pro Bowl potential
6.00-6.49 — Chance to become good NFL starter
5.70-5.99 — Could become early NFL starter
5.30-5.69 — NFL backup or eventual starter
5.15-5.29 — Developmental prospect or special teams potential
5.01-5.14 — Back end of the roster
5.00 — 50/50 chance of making the roster
Now, that doesn’t mean these grades are always accurate, but we thought it would be fun to rank all the Ohio State players in the 2021 NFL draft for comparison’s sake. That way we can keep an eye on where some fall right in line, who could be overrated, and who was severely underappreciated (see Michael Thomas and Terry McLaurin).