Ohio State football: What 2019 Buckeye NFL draftees face in getting onto the field

Credit: Harry How

Credit: Harry How

After the euphoria of being selected in the NFL Draft wears off, it's time to get down to business.

Let's take a look at the football situations in which each Ohio State player taken in 2019 landed.

Nick Bosa, defensive end, first round, San Francisco 49ers 

The No. 2 overall pick joins a defensive line that ranked 19th in the league in Football Outsiders’ “adjusted line yards,” a figure that attempts to remove the impact of the back seven when evaluating a front. The 49ers were also in the bottom half of the league in adjusted sack rate despite getting 12 sacks from DeForest Buckner.

>>RELATED: The pre-draft moment that stuck with 49ers brass regarding Nick Bosa

Bosa could the final piece to a dominant front as he joins a group that also included recent first-round pick Solomon Thomas and added Pro Bowl end Dee Ford.

“It's pretty impossible to double-team any of us because then you're single-teaming one of us,” Bosa told reporters after being drafted. "It's going to be fun.”

Dwayne Haskins, quarterback, first round, Washington Redskins 

Ohio State’s record-seeing quarterback landed close to home and in a place in need of a long-term answer at his position.

Coach Jay Gruden, who turned the keys of his offense over to rookie Andy Dalton in Cincinnati in 2011, knows how to coach quarterbacks and said Haskins will be able to compete with Case Keenum and Colt McCoy for the starting job, but he won’t be pushed into the role, either.

>>RELATED: Draft thoughts on the Bengals, Dwayne Haskins, Nick Bosa, etc. 

With only one year of starting experience at Ohio State, he likely needs at least a little time to develop. And although the Buckeyes’ passing game expanded under Ryan Day the past two years, Gruden’s version of the West Coast offense is regarded as fairly complex.

"The college game is different than the NFL game," Redskins director of college scouting Kyle Smith told the team website. "What we have to do is break down and get inside of his mind and let him understand the west coast offense, understanding defenses, coverages, all those things that are so much different than the college game, so he's going to have a chance to do that."

Parris Campbell, receiver, second round, Indianapolis Colts 

Second-year head coach Frank Reich runs an offense that is good at featuring playmakers, and he sees Campbell as one who can help his team in multiple ways right away.

“Parris was the one guy that really jumped off the tape to me,” Reich said, per the team website. "Just his explosiveness. Playing in the slot, you see all the things he can do, but I really saw some abilities in him that I thought translate and make him not just a slot receiver that you can do a lot of different things with him.”

A major knock on Indianapolis for some time has been failing to provide star quarterback Andrew Luck with much help.

T.Y. Hilton was again among the best receivers in the league last season, but no one else stood out aside from tight end Eric Ebron.

Dre’Mont Jones, defensive tackle, third round, Denver Broncos

Denver had one of the poorer defensive lines in the league last year according to Football Outsiders, getting little production from the spot Jones figures to fill when he arrives in the Mile High City.

“I saw some of his highlights,” All-Pro linebacker Von Miller told fans at a charity event per the team website. “He’s incredible. Extremely quick and in (first-year head coach Vic) Fangio’s defense he’ll be able to make a lot of plays for us.”

Terry McLaurin, receiver, third round, Washington Redskins

A polished player with five years of college experience, McLaurin joins a situation that appears to be positive for multiple reasons.

The most obvious is his pre-existing relationship with Haskins, although that will obviously not become a big factor unless/until Haskins becomes the team’s No. 1 quarterback.

Beyond that, Washington’s receivers were nothing to write home about last year. None ranked in the top 50 in the league per Football Outsiders, and the best (Jamison Crowder) left via free agency.

Smith said he sees McLaurin as possessing the speed to play split end, the route-running ability to play in the slot and the blocking ability to play flanker, but he is also looking forward to what McLaurin brings to the locker room.

“We have good veteran leadership here to begin with, but he is a guy that we expect to come in and be a big part of this locker room from a leadership perspective.”

Michael Jordan, guard/center, fourth round, Cincinnati Bengals 

With offensive line having been a weak spot for the team the past two years, Jordan could be in the mix for playing time right away as a new coaching staff evaluates the veterans and figures out what to do with Jordan and fellow rookie Jonah Williams, the team's pick in the first round.

The addition of Williams, who is a natural tackle, could lead to sliding Cordy Glenn inside, so there figures to be a great deal of competition at guard. (Glenn could also move to right tackle.)

The versatility of Jordan, who like 2018 first-round pick Billy Price played both guard and center at Ohio State, should help his chances of finding a home immensely.

Kendall Sheffield, cornerback, fourth round, Atlanta Falcons 

After fielding one of the worst pass defenses in football last season, the Falcons also drafted cornerback Jordan Miller in the fifth round. Though the team website does not project either of the rookies to be starting at this point, one can never have enough cornerbacks in the ever-pass-happier league.

Isaiah Prince, offensive tackle, sixth round, Miami Dolphins 

The first-team All-Big Ten tackle joins Wisconsin center Michael Deiter in the draft class as the Dolphins look to improve a line that was average in the run game and struggled to protect the passer according to Football Outsiders.

The Miami Herald called Prince a potential starter on a roster that also includes Zach Sterup and Jesse Davis as options at right tackle, although that might be by default as the rebuilding team has limited options there at this point in time.

Mike Weber, running back, seventh round, Dallas Cowboys 

With former Buckeye Ezekiel Elliott entrenched as the starter and Memphis running back Tony Pollard taken in the fourth round, carries could be hard to come by early on for Weber.

However, the team selected Weber because they had graded him "multiple rounds higher" than where they got him according to DallasCowboys.com writer Rob Phillips.

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