As the book has closed on the 2025 NFL season, the focus shifts to free agency, the combine, and the NFL Draft. Ohio State will see plenty of players selected early in the draft, with multiple players ranked in the top five of some big boards.
Mel Kiper has released his latest mock draft, and one player from Ohio State is projected to make a little history.
Kiper has the New York Jets picking safety Caleb Downs from Ohio State with the second overall pick.
“This would be the highest draft slot for a safety since Eric Turner went No. 2 in 1991,” Kiper wrote.
Turner was the number two overall pick of the 1991 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. He became a regular starter for the Browns in his second season under head coach Bill Belichick. The former UCLA Bruin would stay with the franchise through the move to Baltimore, and then play from 1997 through 1999 with the Oakland Raiders before his career was ended due to stomach cancer.
Overall, he played in 109 games, starting 105, with 801 tackles and 30 interceptions.
Defensive backs, in general, do not get picked early in the draft. Since 1967, only two defensive backs have been selected in the top two picks. One was Turner, and the other was Travis Hunter, selected second overall in the 2025 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Regardless, highly drafted safeties have tended to work out well. In 2004, the Washington Redskins selected Sean Taylor fifth overall. He was on his way to a Hall of Fame career until his life was tragically cut short. Eric Berry was selected fifth overall in 2010 by the Kansas City Chiefs, and he went on to be a five-time Pro Bowler.
The Jets have also spent a high pick on a safety before. They picked Jamal Adams sixth overall in the 2017 NFL Draft. While selecting a safety this high is rare, the profile for Downs warrants the selection.
“He reads the offense so well, and then he has quickness, physicality and ball skills to make plays against both the run and the pass. He can truly impact a defense's ceiling from the back end, with six interceptions, 18 tackles for loss and 22 run stops over his three college seasons. The Jets' defense didn't have a single INT in 2025 — yes, you read that right — and only the Cowboys gave up more points (29.6 per game). Plus, Andre Cisco is hitting free agency,” Kiper wroteof the player.
Kiper has the Jets staying on the defensive end of the ball with their 16th pick, going with defensive tackle Peter Woods out of Clemson. He also has two more safeties going in the first round, with the Minnesota Vikings selection Dillon Thieneman out of Oregon with the 18th pick, and Emmanuel McNeil-Warren from Toledo going to the Broncos at number 30.
The NFL combine is slated to start on Thursday, with the NFL Draft taking place April 23 through 25.
