Poll and Pod: Which Ohio State draft pick will be the most difficult to replace this season?

Vote on who left the biggest hole on the Ohio State roster.

Caleb Downs (left) and Sonny Styles (right) will be two of the toughest Buckeyes to replace this season. (Photo courtesy of Ohio State).

COLUMBUS — There’s the guy who left and the guy who’s next. In thinking of the Ohio State roster that way, which Buckeye selected in the 2026 NFL Draft will be the most difficult for Ohio State replace?

Bill and I will talk this out on a YouTube show and podcast Tuesday, and we want your contribution. Substack only allows five vote options, so after the first-rounders, I lumped the other options together. If you choose that, feel free to mention in a comment at the bottom which Buckeye you were particularly thinking of, whether it’s Kayden McDonald, Caden Curry or someone else.

Before we get to the poll, let’s run through who is leaving and their most likely replacements.

Edit: We did a YouTube on this, referencing your answers in this poll.

WR Carnell Tate to Devin McCuin/Kyle Parker/Chris Henry Jr./Brock Boyd

• Tate leaves a hole as the No. 2 pass catcher after averaging 4.6 catches and 80 receiving yards per game, and catching nine touchdowns in the 11 games he played. He was a first-team All-Big Ten pick.

The Buckeyes will probably lean on a committee to replace him, including McCuin (5.4 catches, 61 yards per game at UTSA last season), Parker (3.1 catches, 33 yards per game at LSU) and true freshmen Henry and Boyd.

LB/Edge Arvell Reese to Christian Alliegro/Riley Pettitjohn

• No one can exactly do what Reese did as a linebacker and pass rush threat. He had a 76.5 PFF grade in 651 defensive snaps and was a first-team All-American.

Alliegro had a 62.3 grade in 451 snaps at Wisconsin, with a little bit of the pass-rush versatility that Reese showed. Pettitjohn as a true freshman played 77 defensive snaps with a PFF grade of 66.6.