Mel Kiper moves up Ohio State’s Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave in latest NFL mock draft
The NFL offseason is well underway. Since the Super Bowl in mid-February, the NFL Combine took place in Indianapolis and free agency began. Across the country, college football teams are hosting pro days for their recently departed players.
All of this is a build up to the NFL Draft in late April where players hope to hear their name called as they take the next step in their football careers. This will include a number of former Ohio State players.
This week, ESPN’s Mel Kiper released his latest mock draft (ESPN+), projecting which players will be selected. Like his last mock draft, Kiper has two Buckeyes being taken in the first round of the NFL Draft in wide receivers Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave. Both players, however, have moved up the board in Kiper’s eyes.
In his last mock draft at the beginning of March, Kiper projected Wilson to go to the New Orleans Saints at No. 14 overall. He now has the former Scarlet and Gray wide receiver coming off the board at the eighth pick in the first round and going to the Atlanta Falcons. This would be the highest selection of an Ohio State receiver since David Boston in 1999 who also went No. 8 overall.
Here is what Kiper wrote about projecting the Falcons to select Wilson:
So long, Matt Ryan. That means the Falcons will go with a quarterback here, right? Not necessarily. They have one of the league’s worst rosters and could try to get by with Marcus Mariota for a season before going all-in for a passer in the 2023 draft. There’s no guarantee they love Malik Willis or Kenny Pickett enough to take one of them with a top-10 pick. And based on where they are in my rankings — Nos. 19 and 20 — I wouldn’t, either. This is a team that is a long ways from competing, so it shouldn’t force the pick.
Atlanta could go with the best prospect available and fill a need position with Wilson, a field-stretcher who had 113 catches and 18 touchdowns for the Buckeyes over the past two seasons. He ran a speedy 4.38-second 40-yard dash at the combine. With Calvin Ridley suspended for the season, the Falcons don’t have any starting-caliber receivers on their roster to catch Mariota’s passes.
Eight picks after Wilson, Kiper projects Olave to come off the board to the Philadelphia Eagles at No. 16 overall. This pick would partner Olave with former Alabama wideout DeVonta Smith, who was the No. 10 overall pick a year ago and who Wilson recently discussed hoping to play with, forming a dangerous tandem. It would also mark only the second time in Ohio State history two Buckeye wideouts were selected in the first round in the NFL Draft.
Here is what Kiper wrote explaining his projection of Olave to the Eagles.
Olave can play early and often for a Philadelphia team that has to get more out of its passing game with quarterback Jalen Hurts. Olave is a speedster (4.39 40-yard dash at the combine) who had 13 touchdowns last season. This would be the Eagles’ third straight draft taking a wideout in Round 1, but it should be a priority if they want to get back to the playoffs.
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With over a month to go until the 2022 NFL Draft takes place in Las Vegas, there will continue to be moves made around the League that will shape where players are selected.
Read More: Mel Kiper moves up Ohio State’s Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave in latest NFL mock draft