Ohio State football will likely lead all teams with at least four players taken in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Could they all go in the top 10?
The Buckeyes have a chance to make NFL history if wide receiver Carnell Tate, safety Caleb Downs and linebackers Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles all get drafted in the first 10 picks: Only one other college football team in the common draft era has ever had four players taken in the top 10 in a single draft.
All four Ohio State players are projected as top-10 picks in USA TODAY’s latest mock draft.
While all four players won a national championship at Ohio State in 2024, they fell short of a repeat in 2025 after losing their last two games of the season to eventual College Football Playoff champion Indiana in the Big Ten Championship, then losing to eventual runner-up Miami at the Cotton Bowl.
Reese, Tate and Downs all left school early, as each were juniors last season. Sonny Styles was a senior, and jumped into the first-round conversation after putting together a historically dominant NFL Scouting Combine performance.
Here’s a look at which teams have the most top-10 picks in a single NFL draft ahead of Ohio State’s run at history in 2026:
Which school has most top-10 picks in a single NFL draft?
Only one team has ever produced four top-10 picks in the same NFL draft. Michigan State was the first — and last — team to do so, when the co-champion Spartans produced four top-10 picks in the 1967 NFL Draft (coincidentally, the first year the NFL merged its draft with the AFL’s).
Michigan State’s selections were:
Ohio State is looking to become the second team with four top-10 picks in the same year in 2026.
College football teams with most top-10 picks in single NFL draft
Seven teams have had three players selected in the top 10 of the same NFL draft. Here’s a look at each team with three or more top-10 picks in a single NFL draft:
Michigan State (1967)
USC: 3 (1977)
Miami: 3 (1987)
Penn State: 3 (1995)
Auburn: 3 (2005)
Oklahoma: 3 (2010)
Ohio State: 3 (2016)
Alabama: 3 (2021)
Ohio State NFL draft projections
Here are the current draft projections for Ohio State in the first round, courtesy of USA TODAY Sports’ most-recent mock draft:
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Most top-10 picks in one NFL draft: Ohio State football aiming for record
Reporting by Austin Curtright, USA TODAY NETWORK / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
