Draft grades provide interesting perspective on Ohio State this season

Want additional confirmation that Ryan Day’s 2021 Ohio State team is really talented? Well, we have some information to share with you.

It comes in the form of preseason NFL draft grades from the scouting services used by NFL teams — Blesto and National Football Scouting.

The Buckeyes enter the season with at least 14 draft-eligible players who have a draftable preseason grade from at least one of those two scouting services. That includes at least nine who have a Day 2 grade or better from at least one of the two services — defensive ends Zach Harrison and Tyreke Smith, wide receivers Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, offensive tackles Nicholas Petit-Frere and Thayer Munford, defensive backs Sevyn Banks and Josh Proctor and tight end Jeremy Ruckert.

To put that into perspective, 14 picks would tie an NFL draft record for most picks from one school. Ohio State had 14 in 2004 and LSU matched that number in 2020. The Buckeyes had 10 draftees in each of the past two years.

While National Football Scouting only grades seniors, Blesto also grades some top juniors.

The highest grades for Ohio State players belong to Harrison and Olave. Harrison, a 2020 second-team All-Big Ten defensive lineman, has a first-round grade from Blesto, a source shared with On3. Olave, meanwhile, has a National Football Scouting grade (6.4) that’s tied for third-best among senior players, behind only Georgia edge defender Adam Anderson (6.7), Auburn defensive back Roger McCreary (6.5) and Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson (6.5). Olave’s grade is the highest among senior receivers, ahead of guys such as Penn State’s Jahan Dotson (6.2) and South Alabama’s Jalen Tolbert (6.2).

National Football Scouting has Ruckert (6.0) and Banks (6.0) with the next-highest grades among Ohio State seniors. That number represents a Day 2 grade.

Ohio State, the preseason favorite to win the Big Ten, opens its season September 2 — that’s a Thursday — at Minnesota; that game kicks off at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. The Buckeyes then host No. 11 Oregon on September 11 in a marquee non-conference matchup; that will have a noon ET kickoff on Fox.