Ohio State's dominance and history in the NFL Draft: All the numbers you need to know

The Buckeyes have the most first-rounders in draft history, and have a chance to get their 100th first-rounder in the 2026 NFL Draft.

COLUMBUS — Ohio State will be at the forefront of the 2026 NFL Draft on Thursday night, with a chance to have four players picked in the Top 10, five players picked in the first round, and 10 players picked overall.

Here are all the numbers you need to know about Ohio State’s draft history, plus a look at a draft of Ryan Day picks that we did to give you context for this era of OSU draft production.

• Kayden McDonald could become the 100th first-round pick in Ohio State history. The Buckeyes have 95 first-rounders, the most all-time, with Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles, Carnell Tate and Caleb Downs certain to go in the first round.

That means the 100th first-round Buckeye is either going to be McDonald tonight … or Jeremiah Smith high in the first round next year, when the draft is on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

USC is next with 86 first-rounders, and Alabama is third with 84.

• Ohio State ranks third all-time in the most overall draft picks with 503. Notre Dame is first with 538, and USC is second with 533.

• Ohio State is expected to have 10 players picked in this draft: Reese, Styles, Tate, Downs, McDonald, Davison Igbinosun, Max Klare, Caden Curry, Will Kacmarek and Lorenzo Styles. If that happens, it will be the sixth time the Buckeyes have had double-digit picks. It happened in 2004 (14), 2016 (12), 2020 (10), 2021 (10), and (2025 (14).

Overall, there have been 36 instances of a school producing double-digit picks in a year. Alabama and Ohio State have done it five times; Florida State has done it four times; Georgia, Michigan and USC have done it three times; and Texas and Washington have done it twice.

• There have been 26 times when a college program produced at least four first-rounders in a single draft. Alabama has done it five times, and Ohio State and Miami have done it four times. The Buckeyes will do it again tonight, and Alabama and Miami won’t, so Ohio State will tie the Crimson Tide.

Florida State, LSU, Notre Dame and USC have done it twice; and Penn State, Oklahoma, Michigan State, Georgia and Auburn have done it once.

I find those two stats to be interesting representations of high-level talent accumulation. Not many programs can stack guys like that.

• Ohio State’s previous four years with at least four first-rounders:

— 1971: 9 John Brockington, 19 Jack Tatum, 23 Tim Anderson, 24 Leo Hayden

— 2006: 5 A.J. Hawk, 8 Donte Whitner, 15 Bobby Carpenter, 25 Santonio Holmes, 29 Nick Mangold

— 2016: 3 Joey Bosa, 4 Ezekiel Elliott, 10 Eli Apple, 16 Taylor Decker, 20 Darron Lee

— 2025: 19 Emeka Egbuka, 24 Donovan Jackson, 28 Tyleik Williams, 32 Josh Simmons.

• If McDonald does go in the first round and gives the Buckeyes five first-rounders, it will be just he ninth time that has happened.

— 2004 Miami, 2021 Alabama: 6 first-rounders

— 1968 USC, 2002 Miami, 2006 Ohio State, 2016 Ohio State, 2020 LSU, 2022 Georgia: 5 first-rounders

• You’ve probably heard about Ohio State’s chance to become the first program since Michigan State in 1967 to have four picks in the Top 10. I went through every draft to make sure this stat was right. So if the Buckeyes’ fourth draft pick isn’t until pick No. 11 or 12 or 13, here is the overall context. It’s still rare.

There have been 10 instances of a team having four picks within the Top 20. Michigan State and Notre Dame are the only two with four in the Top 10. Here are the 10 times that happened, and the number of the pick when the fourth player from the program went off the board.

1967 Michigan State: 8

1946 Notre Dame: 10

1997 Florida State: 14

2020 Alabama: 15

2021 Alabama: 15

1968 USC: 16

2016 Ohio State: 16

2004 Miami: 17

2006 Florida State: 19

1993 Notre Dame: 20

• Let’s talk even more about the very top of the draft. There’s certainly a chance the Buckeyes could have three players go in the first six picks. That has only happened five times previously, and only once in the last 48 years.

— 1946 Notre Dame: 1, 4, 5

— 1948 Alabama: 1, 4, 5

— 1967 Michigan State: 1, 2, 5

— 1977 USC: 1, 4, 5

— 2010 Oklahoma: 1, 3, 4

• In the Ryan Day era, starting with the 2020 draft, 50 Buckeyes have been taken in six drafts. That includes:

— 14 first-rounders

— 7 second-rounders

— 9 third-rounders

— 6 fourth-rounders

— 7 fifth-rounders

— 3 sixth-rounders

— 4 seventh-rounders

On a Zoom call with BAD tier members last month, we did a 32-player draft of the best picks of the Day era, with the players from this year included. It was some combination of what the players were like as prospects coming out of college, and what they’ve turned into in the NFL. It was just for fun, but it gave us some overall context of how Ohio State has been producing draft prospects.

Those 32 picks: