Ohio State's receiver renaissance and a shot at six 1,000-yard NFL receivers

Buckeye pass catchers in the NFL could have their best season ever in 2025.

Emeka Egbuka had two seasons of 1,000 receiving yards at Ohio State, and he could reach that mark in the NFL this season as a rookie with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. (Photo courtesy of Ohio State)

COLUMBUS — The number is 41. That’s how many seasons of 1,000 receiving yards have been accomplished by former Ohio State pass catchers in the NFL.

This is not counting Jameson Williams, who transferred to Alabama because the Buckeyes had so much receiver talent there wasn’t really room for him. He had 1,001 yards for the Detroit Lions last year. (I’m still not sure what we should do with college transfers who don’t finish their careers at a school when we gather data like this.)

This was confirmed by going through Pro Football Reference season by season and checking every 1,000-yard receiver, because you just never know. I was pretty sure the number was 40, and then in the research I wondered if Cloyce Box, who had 1,009 receiving yards for Detroit in 1950 ,might be a Buckeye who had slipped my mind. He wasn’t — Box played for West Texas.

But you should have seen my fist pump when the double check revealed Terrelle Pryor’s 1,000-yard season with the Cleveland Browns in 2016, which had evaded my first run-through. Let’s take a moment to acknowledge the rare skill it takes for anyone to start nine NFL games at quarterback in 2013, and three seasons later rank 22nd in receiving yards.

So it’s 41 seasons of 1,000 receiving yards for now. And at the end of the season it might be 47.

Five former Buckeyes have a legit chance at getting to 1,000 yards this year. The initial thought here was whether Ohio State might gather in a total of 10,000 receiving yards in the NFL in 2025. That’s a stretch, even if you count Williams. But with Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate roaming the field in Columbus as future NFL Draft picks, and five OSU receivers taken in the first round in the last four years, we know we’re in the midst of a Buckeye receiver renaissance.

So let’s put some numbers and context to it.