2017 NFL Draft: Expectations for Ohio State Buckeyes as rookies

The 2017 NFL Draft is starting to become just another day at the office for the Ohio State Buckeyes. The team has achieved yet another solid draft class following their impressive turnout in the year prior.

The Ohio State Buckeyes have done it again. After losing almost the entirety of their starting lineup to the 2016 NFL Draft, the Bucks have made their presence known once more. The roster turnover may not have been as immense, but the Bucks’ ability to be present in the early rounds with ease after such a large turnover reveals much about the team’s future.

In this year’s draft, the Buckeyes had seven players drafted. Such amount pales in comparison to the 12 that were drafted in 2016. With that being said, let’s take a step back and reflect on some of the expectations for this past season.

There was plenty of speculation that Ohio State would take a step back after losing so many starters to the draft. As it turns out, that step back ended up being one game away from another championship appearance.

Last season’s Ohio State team was different from the season prior for the better and for the worse. The 2015 Buckeyes had a higher expected ceiling but underachieved, and the 2016 Buckeyes had a lower expected ceiling but overachieved.

This can be attributed to many components that makes Ohio State a perennial power, but the fact of the matter is that they have head coach Urban Meyer. His ability to develop young athletes into pro-ready players is now on full display. Meyer has turned Ohio State into a hot spot for professional talent and NFL teams have taken notice.

Meyer took the players that he had left coming into last season and developed them into high caliber competitors. A great example of this was the running back room consisting of Mike Weber and Curtis Samuel. Both were understudies of now NFL star Ezekiel Elliott, who was also a favorite of Meyer.

Weber, who was only a red-shirt freshman, went for over 1,000 yards and Samuel, who had only accrued a little over 500 yards in his first two seasons, went for over 1,500 all-purpose yards last season.

Considering that the Buckeyes’ draft class of 2016 is now in the discussion and viewed by some as the best rookie class in NFL history, it’s reasonable to think that the young Bucks would have a hard time holding a candle to the former draftees. That is why this draft class is special.

This shows that the Buckeyes players who are drafted ends up making real impacts in the league. On top of that, it shows that the team has the ability to develop and produce high level players every season.

All seven drafted players are expected to make an impact, but which individual’s impact will be the most significant? The answer to that will be up to the players, but what we can answer is how each of them will fit each team.