Ohio State has a trio of secondary players waiting to hear their names called when the 2023 NFL Draft kicks off Thursday and runs through Saturday.
The Buckeye hopefuls of Ronnie Hickman, Cameron Brown and Tanner McCalister each endured the pre-draft process with the hopes of raising their stock prior to draft day. With the draft kicking off later this week, speculation on where Ohio State’s trio of defensive backs may end up is continuing to heat up.
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler predicted that Hickman would be the lone Buckeye defensive back to hear his name called during the draft, slotting Hickman in as the No. 218th overall selection, and first overall pick in the seventh round, to the Chicago Bears, while Brown and McCalister remained off of his draft board.
Hickman saw a significant bump in CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson’s mock draft on April 21, landing as the No. 189th selection in the sixth round of the draft. Wilson also left Brown and McCalister off of his draft board.
The mock draft completed by Pro Football Focus’ staff on April 25 was much more optimistic, slotting Hickman in as the No. 116 overall selection to the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round while Brown landed on the Miami Dolphins in the seventh round with the No. 238 overall selection.
NFL.com’s Chad Reuter also had Hickman being selected before the final round, slotting him in at No. 138 to the Indianapolis Colts in the fifth round. Brown and McCalister were left off of his board.
Regardless of what the pundits say, all three Buckeyes have the opportunity to have their NFL dreams realized this weekend during the 2023 NFL Draft — which begins Thursday at 8 p.m. on ESPN and ABC.
