Tag: Paris Johnson Jr.

Draft Wire names top Ohio State NFL prospects this season

DraftWire names top Ohio State NFL prospects #GoBucks

Our friends over at Draft Wire have released a list of their favorite NFL prospects, including six Buckeyes that are draft eligible after this season and are expected to make big waves during the 2022 season. These studs deserve more than photos of them; therefore, we will provide a brief breakdown of why this group may appeal to NFL teams.

It should not be surprising that their first four ranked Ohio State prospects are on the offensive side of the football, but hopefully by season’s end more defensive players are given early rounds values. Enough talk, let’s break down these Buckeyes that have a good shot at hearing their name called in next year’s NFL draft.

Two Ohio State football players make preseason 2022 Outland Trophy watch list

Two Buckeyes have landed on the Outland Trophy preseason watch list for 2022. #GoBucks

We’ve got another college football preseason watch list out, and there are a couple of Ohio State players included.

The Outland Trophy has been around for a very long time. The first one was awarded in 1946 to Notre Dame’s George O’Connor as the best college football interior lineman, and a player has been named annually by the FWAA ever since.

This year’s watch list was released on Monday, and both of the Buckeyes’ book-end offensive tackles, Dawand Jones and Paris Johnson Jr, are among the 89 names to keep an eye on for 2022.

Jones is entering his senior campaign after flirting with leaving early for the NFL draft. He came in as an unheralded prospect in the 2019 class but his combination of size and athleticism has allowed him to develop into a potential early-round NFL draft pick for 2023. He was a second-team All-Big Ten performer in 2021.

Johnson has been patiently awaiting his turn to move to his more natural offensive tackle position. Unlike Jones, he was a five-star prospect in the 2020 class expected to make a contribution immediately as a freshman. He did get on the field that year but has yet to be considered as the anchor of the line. He too was a second-team All-Big Ten performer and will get his shot to be the guy this season.

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Top three draft-eligible offensive tackles in the Big Ten

Top three draft-eligible offensive tackles in the Big Ten #B1G

It is never too early to talk about the NFL Draft and one of the most polarizing and fun positions to discuss is the offensive tackle position. The Ohio State football program has a reputation for pumping out some talented offensive tackles. In recent memory, we’ve seen guys like Nicholas Petit-Frere, Taylor Decker, and Jack Mewhort, but the Big Ten as a whole can produce bookends.

Northwestern is projected to be a work in progress this season, but it also has a strong history of producing offensive tackle talents like Rashawn Slater, Trai Essex, and Chris Hinton. It is always fun to check out the conference’s history, but let’s see who are the most likely to hear their name called early next year.

Seven Ohio State players make Phil Steele’s All-American squads

A whopping seven OSU players were mentioned in Phil Steele’s All-American college football teams for 2022. #GoBucks

There are preseason college football magazines, and then there are preseason college football magazines. Most everyone agrees that Phil Steele puts out the king of preseason CFB mags on a yearly basis, and that’s because the research is top-notch and it is packed full of interesting stats and tidbits you just don’t find anywhere else.

In a nod to college football getting ready to gear up, and with it Ohio State football, you can find several preseason college football magazines on newsstands and grocery stores in your neighborhood right now. That includes the venerable Phil Steele page-turner.

We always check in with Steele to see what he says about Ohio State, and we’re doing the same this year. Our first stop is to look and see how many Buckeyes he has on his All-American teams. As fate would have it, with so many dynamic players back on this year’s Buckeye squad, Steele has a whopping seven players littered across his four All-American squads.

And yeah, we’re here to break it down for you. Here are all seven Ohio State players that got a mention in Phil Steele’s All-American teams for the 2022 college football season.

2023 NFL mock draft: A surprise at No. 2, Will Anderson tumbles?

It’s still early, but there are still some shocking developments in this 2023 NFL mock draft

Sure, it’s a bit early to start labeling mock draft picks as “surprises” for the 2023 NFL draft, but at this point, there are some projections that indeed raise the eyebrows.

Such is the case with the latest 2023 NFL mock draft from Pro Football Network, which has a shocker at the No. 2 overall pick.

This mock has the Atlanta Falcons taking Ohio State offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr., leaving Alabama edge defender Will Anderson still on the board. In fact, Anderson doesn’t even land in the top five, falling all the way to the Seattle Seahawks at No. 9 overall.

Here’s what Pro Football Network’s Ian Cummings had to say about the Johnson pick:

The Falcons could absolutely be in the mix for a quarterback here. But they signed Marcus Mariota, who has pre-existing experience with Arthur Smith, and drafted Cincinnati QB Desmond Ridder in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Neither is a lock to be the long-term answer. But if either shows promise, the Falcons have the flexibility to keep investing in talent elsewhere in 2023.

One area of concern in Atlanta, with an eye on the future, is the offensive line. The interior remains unsettled outside of Chris Lindstrom, and after declining Kaleb McGary’s fifth-year option, Atlanta is almost sure to seek his replacement in the near future. In a tackle class without much blue-chip talent, the Falcons may need to pounce quickly on the top option. Paris Johnson Jr. is a safe bet to be that player. Set to start at left tackle after playing guard in 2021, Johnson has the size, length, athleticism, and power to be a blue-chip bookend.

Johnson certainly has all the tools to be a franchise left tackle at the next level, so seeing him as a potential No. 2 overall pick isn’t too much of a stretch. But seeing him go over Anderson, who was the most dominant player in college football last season and the consensus top prospect in the entire draft class at this point, doesn’t make much sense.

Here’s Cummings’ explanation for Anderson’s fall:

I know what you’re thinking. I’m thinking it too. Will Anderson Jr. should not have fallen this far. But if the draft order plays out as the current odds project, many teams picking early might not need an edge rusher or may give the QB position greater precedence. Detroit picked Aidan Hutchinson. The Giants picked Kayvon Thibodeaux. The Jets picked Jermaine Johnson II. Jacksonville picked Travon Walker. Even the Falcons got Arnold Ebiketie in Round 2.

EDGE isn’t a top need for many teams picking early on. But the Seahawks do have room to add to their rotation. And at this point, the value with Anderson is too good to pass up. Anderson gives the Seahawks a potentially dominant edge defender with high-end explosiveness, lateral agility, power capacity, and a plasma-hot motor in pursuit. Anderson is arguably the top prospect in the 2023 NFL Draft. This is as far as he feasibly falls.

Five quarterbacks land in the first round of this projection, four of them in the top 10: Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud (No. 1 overall, Houston Texans), Alabama’s Bryce Young (No. 3 overall, Detroit Lions), Florida’s Anthony Richardson (No. 6 overall, Carolina Panthers), Kentucky’s Will Levis (No. 7 overall, New York Giants) and Washington State’s Cam Ward (No. 26 overall, Seattle Seahawks).

To check out the full two-round mock draft at Pro Football Network, click here.

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Mel Kiper names three Ohio State players in his top 25 for the 2023 NFL draft

Do you see all three of these guys going in the first round? Here’s what Kiper says and what we think bout it all. #GoBucks

The godfather of the NFL draft analysts is at it again, this time almost a year out from all the brouhaha that is the annual NFL draft. It’s only been a couple of weeks since we saw all the pomp and circumstance surrounding the 2022 version in Sin City, and now ESPN’s Mel Kiper is looking ahead to (clearly not Vegas) Kansas City for 2023.

And once again, YOUR Ohio State Buckeyes look to be well-represented. In fact, Kiper has three Buckeyes in his top fifteen of the top 25 big board (subscription required) for the next draft cycle.

We’re sure you can guess a couple of the players he has in the mix, and if you’ve followed other way-too-early mock drafts, you might have all three, but where does he have each ranked?

We’re ready to run through all three players for you, where Kiper has them ranked, and what he says about each.

 

Three Ohio State players identified in Touchdown Wire’s way-too-early 2023 NFL mock draft

These three Ohio State players seem to be on almost everyone’s radar for next year’s NFL draft as first round possibilities. #GoBucks

Some folks live for the NFL draft. It’s like the weather nowadays, year-round. And when you root for a college football team named THE Ohio State Buckeyes, you can get in on the act pretty easily because OSU sends more NFL widgets to the highest level of the game than almost any other program out there.

Our friends at Touchdown Wire are one of those outlets that like to speculate 365 days of the year (366 on leap years) on what the next draft cycle could look like and we’re all over it like Jim Harbaugh is with stains on khakis.

In fact, there are three Ohio State players appearing in the way-too-early release of Touchdown Wire’s first-round 2023 NFL mock draft and we’re here to give the people what they want and let the cat out of the bag as we sit here in late May.

Todd McShay has a trio of Ohio State players in his early 2023 NFL mock draft

Todd McShay likes him some Ohio State players in his way-too-early look at the first round of the 2023 NFL draft. #GoBucks

The NFL draft is big business and one that goes year-round now. Don’t believe us? Consider that we saw several mock drafts come out less than 24 hours after our television and streaming devices were silenced after this year’s annual spectacle.

One of the most followed NFL draft gurus is ESPN’s Todd McShay, and he has already released his very, very early NFL first-round mock draft for next season. And while Ohio State had two players go in the first round this year, he’s even more bullish on Buckeye players for next season on the first day.

But how many does he think might be selected in the first round and where might they go? Yeah, it’s early and it could all change, but here’s what McShay thinks about Ohio State players that will be eligible in April of next season out in Kansas City.

The list of Buckeyes on the 2023 NFL draft’s radar

Breaking down the next round of Ohio State players, who could go pro. #GoBucks

In the 2022 NFL draft, the Ohio State Buckeyes produced a total of six picks over the three days. This was the lowest output for the school since 2015, that year the Buckeyes produced five selections. The 2022 class snapped a streak of at least seven players being selected.

Perhaps a new streak can begin in the 2023 class. Ohio State’s prospect list will be headlined by quarterback [autotag]C.J. Stroud[/autotag]. He finished out the season as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy and helped lead the team to the Rose Bowl victory over the Utah Utes.

Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud finishes fourth in Heisman voting
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Stroud should challenge for the trophy in 2022 with another big season. He will rely heavily on his receiving tandem of [autotag]Jaxson Smith-Njigba[/autotag] and Marvin Harrison Jr, as well as running back TreVeyon Henderson. Buckeyes Wire will take a more in-depth look at the roster in the coming months.

For now, the focus is on the draft-eligible players for the next season.

According to this list from NBC Sports, there is an offensive trio for the Buckeyes on the radar for the 2023 NFL draft.

Each of the players was listed first among their position groups.

Ohio State lineman Paris Johnson has article published

Ohio State offensive lineman Paris Johnson, Jr., will be making hits on the gridiron soon, but it’s after that he is working on now.

When Paris Johnson Jr came to Ohio State as a five-star offensive lineman, most could see the young man playing three to four years for the Buckeyes and then on to NFL riches. And that will most likely be the case. However, Johnson seems to have bigger plans that go far beyond the gridiron.

The Buckeye offensive tackle is majoring in journalism, meaning he enjoys writing. But who actually enjoys writing? I’ve had people ask me the same thing. We all have different passions and it seems Johnson envisions putting words in print to tell a story as something he would like to do when his football days are over.

Recently, Johnson decided to write a story about his teammate and friend, Thayer Munford, and did such a nice job that it has been published in The OSU student newspaper, The Lantern. You can read the full article here.

It is easy to see from Johnson’s Twitter account that he is excited about his first published article. It’s also easy to forget that these men have interests outside of football. We told you recently about Master Teague being accepted into a master’s program at OSU and it has been quite impressive to see these players seeing life beyond the field.

Congratulations Paris on your first published article. Here’s to reading many more in the future.

Roots in O-H-I-O: All current FBS head coaches with ties to Ohio State or the state of Ohio

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