Ohio State football players in 2020 NFL Draft: Damon Arnette selected by Las Vegas Raiders

In a bit of a surprise, the Las Vegas Raiders selected Ohio State cornerback Damon Arnette with the 19th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

We have our first surprise when it comes to where the Ohio State players were expected to go, and it’s with Damon Arnette. He has been pegged as a mostly second-round pick, he goes in the first-round to the Las Vegas Raiders as the 19th overall pick.

Ohio State’s “other corner,” David Arnette was a tremendous defensive back in his own right. The 6-foot, 195-pounder flirted with coming out early for the 2019 NFL Draft, but took some feedback from NFL types and others around him and decided to come back for his senior season.

As a result, he has improved his draft stock and might be one of the most underrated prospects in this year’s crop. He’s fiery, tough, and helped solidify Ohio State’s top-ranked pass defense last season. Truth be known, had he not had to play with a cast on his arm much of the season, he might have had an even better campaign.

Arnette has extremely good ball skills and is able to locate and high point the ball. He uses great technique to time his coverage skills as the ball arrives. He’s also extremely tough — playing through injury with a cast on his arm –still coming up in run support despite the pain. He’s a highly competitive guy that’ll work to be the best he can be.

This might be seen as a bit of a reach by the Raiders, but the organization clearly believes in what they see. We can’t disagree.

 

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