When Ohio State cornerback Damon Arnette was selected by the Las Vegas Raiders in the first round of Thursday night’s NFL Draft, he became the 12th member of the Buckeyes’ 2015 team to be drafted in the first round.
Not having the time or capacity to find out if that is a record nationally for any one-year roster, I guess we’ll just have to assume this is very, very impressive.
Here is the breakdown of each of those dozen first-round picks.
2016 Draft
DE Joey Bosa, No. 3 overall
RB Ezekiel Elliott, No. 4 overall
CB Eli Apple, No. 10 overall
OT Taylor Decker, No. 16 overall
LB Darron Lee, No. 20 overall
2017 Draft
CB Marshon Lattimore, No. 11 overall
SAF Malik Hooker, No. 15 overall
CB Gareon Conley, No. 24 overall
2018 Draft
CB Denzel Ward, No. 4 overall
OC Billy Price, No. 21 overall
2020 Draft
QB Joe Burrow, No. 1 overall
CB Damon Arnette, No. 19 overall
The 2015 roster has had five Top 10 picks and four Top 5 picks, which is pretty ridiculous by itself. Things get even more unbelievable when you look at the players who were drafted outside of the first round.
Receivers Michael Thomas, Curtis Samuel, and Parris Campbell were all taken in the second round, as were linebacker Raekwon McMillan, defensive end Tyquan Lewis, and safety Vonn Bell.
Thomas is only on pace for the most prolific receiving career in NFL history, in case you’ve missed it.
The third round features NFL fixtures in Miami linebacker Jerome Baker, Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard, Redskins receiver Terry McLaurin, and Vikings offensive lineman Pat Elflein. That round has also had receiver Braxton Miller, tight end Nick Vannett, and defensive tackles Adolphus Washington and Dre’Mont Jones.
Hubbard, by the way, currently has more sacks than anybody else in his draft class (2018).
The fourth round features defensive end Jalyn Holmes, linebacker Joshua Perry, and quarterback Cardale Jones. The fifth round has offensive lineman Jamarco Jones, the sixth round has offensive lineman Isaiah Prince, and the seventh round has receiver Noah Brown and running back Mike Weber.
Total all of those names up, and the 2015 roster has now produced 12 first rounders, six second rounders, eight third rounders, three fourth rounders, one fifth rounder, one sixth rounder, and two seventh rounders.
Or 33 draft picks on a scholarship roster of 85 players.
There are still more to come in the next six rounds of the 2020 NFL Draft as well.
Receiver KJ Hill will be selected, as will defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton. And guys like tight end Rashod Berry, offensive lineman Branden Bowen, and defensive tackles Jashon Cornell and Robert Landers could add to the total as well.
And the 2015 roster isn’t quite done, as linebacker Justin Hilliard is going to be playing a sixth year in college ball this year.
Could he make it a Baker’s Dozen in the first round for the Buckeyes?
Would anybody even be surprised at this point?
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