The 2026 NFL Draft belonged to the Ohio State Buckeyes. With 11 players selected this year, paired with their 14 picks from the 2025 draft, the program reached 25 total selections. That two-year haul officially matches the modern draft record set by Georgia during their recent championship window.

The Ohio State Buckeyes’ 25 selections tied the famous record set by the Georgia Bulldogs back in 2022 and 2023, during their back-to-back national championship runs. This is the absolute most any team has done in the seven-round draft era, which started in 1994.

Georgia built its historic benchmark with 15 draft picks in 2022 and 10 in 2023. By matching the exact 25-player mark, Ohio State proved that its current development pipeline is operating at an identical elite and SEC-caliber level.

The top-heavy talent in this class was actually wild. If you caught the first round on Thursday night, you saw history happen in real time. Ohio State became the first program since 1967 to have four players drafted within the first 11 picks.

Wide receiver Carnell Tate went fourth overall to the Titans. Crucially, linebacker Arvell Reese went fifth to the Giants, and Sonny Styles went seventh to the Commanders. Safety Caleb Downs then capped off the early rush at No. 11 to the Dallas Cowboys.

However, the Buckeyes have one up on the Bulldogs in defensive players. They set a world record by sending 15 defensive players to the league across these two years. This beat Georgia’s previous defensive record of 13. To put that into perspective, every single one of the 11 starters from their 2025 championship defense is now on an NFL team.

Plus, for the second year in a row, they had seven players picked in just the first two rounds. All these picks helped Ohio State reach a total of 99 first-rounders in the school’s history.

Multiple Ohio State players get drafted

Once the “Big Four” were off the board before reaching 12 picks, the next Buckeye was waiting in the second round. The Houston Texans wanted some muscle for their defensive line in the run game, so they took Kayden McDonald at No. 36.

Later in that round, we had a “back-to-back” Buckeye moment. The Los Angeles Rams picked tight end Max Klare at No. 61 because he’s a great target in the red zone. Literally one pick later, at No. 62, the Buffalo Bills took Davison Igbinosun.

Coach Sean McVay’s offense has increasingly relied on sets with three tight ends on the field at once. Klare’s ability to align as an in-line blocker, in the slot, or out wide (where he played 10.7% of snaps at Ohio State) makes him an ideal “chess piece” for this scheme. Known as an “F” tight end, he is designed to create mismatches against linebackers and safeties in the passing game.

Starting tight ends Colby Parkinson and Davis Allen are entering the final years of their contracts, and long-time starter Tyler Higbee is nearing the end of his career. Klare provides a younger, cost-controlled alternative for 2027 and beyond.

Just like Max Klare was the Rams’ specialized “chess piece,” Igbinosun is the Bills’ prototype for their evolving defense under new leadership. Under new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard, the Bills are transitioning away from the zone-heavy system of the previous era. They specifically sought a “long press corner” who can jam receivers at the line. General Manager Brandon Beane described him as a “nasty, edgy player” who sets the tone with his aggressiveness.

Igbinosun himself noted he lives for “me versus him” outside matchups. He was a pillar of an Ohio State defense that ranked #1 in almost every major category in 2025. He has 53 career starts at the highest level of college football. At 6’2″ with nearly 33-inch arms, he has the “engulfing wingspan” that the Bills’ front office felt was missing from their depth chart.

The biggest knock on him was being a “penalty magnet” (16 flags in 2024). However, the Bills were impressed by his maturity in self-diagnosing the issue, which led to him cutting those penalties down significantly in 2025.

Later rounds reinforced this historic depth. Will Kacmarek brought blocking value to Miami in the third. In the fifth, Lorenzo Styles Jr. capitalized on an elite Relative Athletic Score (RAS) to land with New Orleans, completing a successful transition from his time as a Notre Dame receiver.

To round out the weekend, the final two Buckeyes heard their names called on Saturday afternoon. In the sixth round, the Indianapolis Colts picked up Caden Curry at No. 214. Finally, in the seventh round, the Atlanta Falcons took offensive tackle Ethan Onianwa at No. 231. With that, the Buckeyes’ 2026 campaign is officially in the books.