INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – FEBRUARY 25: General manager Howie Roseman of the Philadelphia Eagles speaks to the media during the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center on February 25, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Every summer in Columbus feels a little bit like NFL Draft season in disguise. This year’s group may not have many household names, but it does have a plethora of potential breakout candidates.
Here’s how the 2025 Ohio State roster stacks up, not just for the fall, but for the 2026 NFL Draft. The Philadelphia Eagles will be paying attention!
The Players:
S Caleb Downs — The Bama transplant is a future All-American. Instinctive, physical, and mature beyond his years. Think Malcolm Jenkins, the former Eagles’ safety. He is every coach’s dream. Maybe the most important addition in college football this offseason. A natural-born leader and field general. Downs doesn’t just diagnose plays; he dissects them. Fast enough to play single-high, physical enough to drop in the box, and twitchy enough to cover slot receivers. Ohio State needed someone to elevate the back end of their defense, and Downs makes it a strength. Film rat, special teams value, top 20- round one talent.
WR Carnell Tate — Crisp off the line, great body control, exudes confidence, and he will be a WR2 in a wide receiver room that breeds pro wide receivers. Ball just finds him in big moments. Soft hands, sharp routes, and a knack for making difficult plays look routine. Tate is polished beyond his years and doesn’t waste a step. Quiet demeanor, but his game speaks loudly. He should benefit from playing against CB2 every week. If you’re looking for someone who could be a WR1 in the making, it’s him.
TE Max Klare — Jack-of-all-trades type. Reliable hands, savvy route runner, and blocks like a pissed-off walk-on trying to prove himself. Not flashy, no headlines, just hard-nosed football. Klare’s the kind of guy who keeps the offense on schedule: strong in-line blocker, underrated hands, and high football IQ. Came over from Purdue with little fanfare, but he’ll be a stabilizing force in the tight end room. He’s not a matchup nightmare, but he is dependable and versatile, the type of tight end that good teams don’t appreciate until he’s gone.
LB Sonny Styles — Built like a linebacker, moves like a safety, and processes like a coach’s son. Positionless chess piece if OSU doesn’t overthink his usage. Rare athletic gifts. One week he’s covering tight ends, the next he’s blitzing off the edge, and sometimes he’s doing both in the same game. The key for him in 2025 is clarity. When Styles is in rhythm, he appears to be the most impactful defender on the field. The best version of Styles might be as a hybrid. Just let him play fast and violent.
CB Davison Igbinosun — The swagger’s real. Loves a challenge, chirps all day, and usually backs it up. Old-school corner with new-school length and size. Plays physical at the line, loves mixing it up. He’s grabby at times, and that’ll get him flagged, but he’s also the guy you want matched up on the other team’s WR1. A tone-setter on the perimeter. All the traits, coaching will help.
CB Jermaine Mathews Jr. — Natural cover man with great feet and even better instincts. He might be the quiet breakout in a loaded DB room. Natural feel for timing, sticky in coverage, and never seems to panic. Mathews flashed last year with a pick-six and some big pass breakups. Doesn’t have elite size, but he’s twitchy and competitive, and plays like he’s been in the program twice as long. Jermaine has the talent to emerge as the Buckeyes’ best pure cover corner by season’s end.
DL Kayden McDonald — Squatty, powerful interior clogger with violent hands. Doesn’t care for finesse; he just wants to bulldoze you. His motor’s always hot. Kayden has a wrestling base and bull-like leverage. McDonald has grown into a key rotational piece for the Buckeyes and does the dirty work that frees others to clean up. A tone-setter who wins with power, pad level, and an understanding of trench warfare.
RB C.J. Donaldson — The West Virginia import is a load. Big, bruising back with a surprising burst in the open field. Brings a change of pace and attitude to the Buckeye backfield. Came to Columbus with a bruiser’s resume and a tailback’s burst. Donaldson looks more like a linebacker than a running back, but don’t let the build fool you. He’s nimble through the hole, has sneaky wiggle in space, and brings physicality to the second level. After carrying the load at West Virginia, he walks into a crowded but unsettled backfield in Columbus with a clear role: be the hammer. Think LeGarrette Blount. He has a knack for the endzone.
OT Ethan Onianwa — Raw but moldable. Big frame, long arms, moves better than you’d expect. He blossoms with seasoning. A developmental tackle with prototype traits. Long arms, light feet, and a frame you can’t teach. He could be a future bookend for OSU if he takes to coaching and adds strength.
LB C.J. Hicks — All the traits in the world. Long, fast, explosive, and waiting on the breakout everyone’s predicted since high school. This might finally be the year all the stars align, especially if OSU is going to use him more to get after the QB.
EDGE Kenyatta Jackson Jr. — Flashy tools, and he has shown some pass-rush traits. Long, explosive, and bendy. The production hasn’t quite caught up yet, but you can feel it coming. When he times the snap right, he’s in the backfield before the quarterback finishes his drop. Needs to finish more consistently and get stronger against the run, but the juice is real. Ohio State is betting on his breakout in 2025, and I think it’s a smart bet.
WR Brandon Inniss — Smooth operator. Polished, reliable, and seemingly always open. Plays like he’s been in college for five years, not one.
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Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images