Ohio State has always been loaded with NFL talent, but the Buckeyes’ 2024-25 national title team may have been their most stacked roster to date.
With the conclusion of the 2026 NFL Draft, all 11 defensive starters from Ohio State’s College Football Playoff National Championship victory over Notre Dame on Jan. 20, 2025 have now been drafted to the NFL, with each and every guy being taken within the first five rounds of the last two NFL Drafts.
As if that wasn’t impressive enough, several rotational guys on defense from that year’s squad are also now on their way to the league. In fact, every defensive player to receive at lease five snaps against the Fighting Irish has either been drafted to the NFL or is still on the Ohio State roster waiting for their chance in the 2027 NFL Draft.
The only outlier among that group is Mitchell Melton, who played eight snaps in the national title game but transferred to Virginia, where he became an UDFA and signed with the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
Here is where every one of those 11 starters was taken in order of draft position between the 2025 and 2026 NFL Drafts. All recruiting rankings are based on the 247Sports Composite.
A homegrown talent, Styles came to Columbus as a five-star safety out of Pickerington, Ohio. Despite reclassifying and getting to Ohio State a year early, Styles did play a little bit for the Buckeyes as a freshman when he should’ve still been a high school senior.
Styles then played more than 540 snaps as a sophomore at safety, where he racked up 53 total tackles with 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. It wasn’t until his junior season that Styles made the transition to linebacker, where after a bit of a slow start, he quickly became one of the very best at the position in all of college football.
By the end of that 2024 season, Styles was an absolute stud at linebacker under the tutelage of James Laurinaitis. He posted 100 total tackles with 10.5 tackles for loss and six sacks that year, and followed it up 82 tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss in 2025 as one of the nation’s most dependable and consistent defenders.
Styles was taken with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft by the Washington Commanders.
Downs has been a star since he first stepped foot on a college campus, beginning his career at Alabama. A five-star safety and a top-10 player nationally, Ohio State finished second in his recruitment to the Crimson Tide, and Downs would tally more than 100 tackles as a freshman under Nick Saban.
Once Saban announced his retirement, Downs took his talents to Columbus, where he spent the final two years of his career as the focal point of the Buckeyes’ defense both under defensive coordinators Jim Knowles and Matt Patricia. The true do-it-all athlete managed 147 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and four interceptions in his two years at Ohio State.
Downs’ contributions extend way past the box score. The quarterback of the defense, Downs seemed to always be where the action was happening, whether he was lined up deep at safety, in the middle of the field as a linebacker or even down near the line of scrimmage.
For his efforts, Downs earned two-time Unanimous All-American honors, the 2025 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Award, as well as the Jim Thorpe Award and Ronnie Lott Trophy in his junior campaign. He was selected at No. 11 overall by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Unlike Ohio State’s two first round picks in 2026, Williams did not come to Columbus as a cant-miss, five-star talent. The Virginia native was no slouch by any means, ranking as the No. 25 DL and No. 166 player nationally in the 2021 recruiting class, but he became a true star with the Buckeyes.
The latest in a string of incredibly disruptive interior lineman at Ohio State, Williams did a little bit of everything on Larry Johnson’s defensive line, as the 6-foot-3, 330-pound tackle was adept at both rushing the passer and stopping the run. All told, Williams posted 136 total tackles, 27 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks in his time in Columbus.
Williams was taken with the No. 28 overall pick by the Detroit Lions in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Alongside Williams on that defensive line was Tuimoloau, a former five-star prospect and one of the very best overall players in the 2021 class as the No. 2 DL. The Washington native was a massive recruiting win for the Buckeyes, but for awhile it didn’t look like Tuimoloau could quite live up to the billing.
More of a run-stopping defensive end rather than a pass-rusher, Tuimoloau wasn’t that same flashy edge player like the Bosas and Chase Youngs before him. However, when the lights shined the brightest, the lineman played some of the best football of his career.
After notching 11 total sacks over his first three seasons in Columbus, Tuimoloau broke out for 12.5 sacks in his senior campaign, with 6.5 of those coming in the College Football Playoff. Tallying 61 tackles and 21.5 TFLs as well in 2024, Tuimoloau became a second round selection by the Indianapolis Colts in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Igbinosun had a fascinating college career. After spending his freshman season at Ole Miss, Iggy followed running back Quinshon Judkins to Ohio State, where he became a three-year starter for the Buckeyes at cornerback.