Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud is off to the NFL. Where is he in the latest 2023 mock drafts?
C.J. Stroud made it official Monday: his Ohio State career is complete.
The two-year Buckeye quarterback announced that he would enter the 2023 NFL draft after finishing consecutive seasons as a Heisman Trophy finalist, Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and Big Ten Quarterback of the Year, leading the Buckeyes to 21 wins in two seasons.
Stroud is not the only Ohio State player to announce the jump to the NFL with players like center Luke Wypler, offensive tackle Dawand Jones and safety Ronnie Hickman all aiming to be selected in April's draft. But consensus seems to indicate that three former Buckeyes are on a path to be first-round selections: Stroud, offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr. and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
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C.J. Stroud is off to the NFL: Ohio State QB CJ Stroud makes it official: He's headed to the NFL
Here's where each is picked to end up according to multiple recent 2023 NFL mock drafts.
QB C.J. Stroud
CBS: No. 5 Los Vegas Raiders
USA Today: No. 4 Indianapolis Colts
Yahoo Sports: No. 2 Houston Texans
Pro Football Focus: No. 7 Las Vegas Raiders
Draft Wire: No. 2 Houston Texans
Draft Network: No. 9 Houston Texans
In two seasons as Ohio State's starting quarterback, Stroud recorded 8,123 passing yards with 85 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while completing 69.3% of his 830 pass attempts.
Those numbers have brought Stroud as a consensus top-10 pick and one of the top three quarterbacks taken in 2023 mock drafts along with Alabama quarterback Bryce Young and Kentucky quarterback Will Levis.
Stroud seems to be on the path to become the third Ohio State quarterback since 2019 to be selected in the first 15 picks of the NFL draft along with Justin Fields in 2021 and Dwayne Haskins in 2019.
OL Paris Johnson Jr.
CBS: No. 10 Philadelphia Eagles
USA Today: No. 11 Tennessee Titans
Yahoo Sports: No. 7 Las Vegas Raiders
Pro Football Focus: No. 11 Tennessee Titans
Draft Wire: No. 13 New York Jets
Draft Network: No. 7 Chicago Bears
With his 6-foot-6, 315-pound frame, Johnson will likely be one of the first offensive linemen off the board in April's draft.
Johnson was a part of an Ohio State offensive line that allowed 12 sacks in 13 games, while finishing third in the Big Ten with 198.5 rushing yards per game and 5.5 yards per rush during the regular season.
Johnson, who is in the running with Northwestern's Peter Skoronski and Georgia's Broderick Jones as the first offensive lineman off the board, would be the Buckeyes' first first-round offensive lineman since Billy Price in 2018 and the first first-round tackle selected since Taylor Decker in 2016.
WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba
CBS: No. 26 New York Giants
USA Today: No. 22 New York Giants
Yahoo Sports: No. 20 Seattle Seahawks
Pro Football Focus: No. 32 Philadelphia Eagles
Draft Wire: No. 22 New York Giants
Draft network: No. 15 Green Bay Packers
After missing the majority of his junior season with a hamstring injury, Smith-Njigba still has a chance to be one of the first four wide receivers selected in the 2023 draft.
Along with USC's Jordan Addison, TCU's Quentin Johnston and Boston College's Zay Flowers, most mocks have Smith-Njigba as a first-round pick after his record-breaking sophomore season in 2021.
A Smith-Njigba first-round selection would be Ohio State's third first-round receiver in two years.
Ohio State football schedule 2023
Here's what Ohio State's 2023 football schedule looks like.
Sept. 2: Ohio State vs. Indiana, Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Indiana
Sept. 9: Ohio State vs. Youngstown State, Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Sept. 16: Ohio State vs. Western Kentucky, Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Sept. 23: Ohio State vs. Notre Dame, Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana
Oct. 7: Ohio State vs. Maryland, Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Oct. 14: Ohio State vs. Purdue, Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana
Oct. 21: Ohio State vs. Penn State, Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Oct. 28: Ohio State vs. Wisconsin, Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, Wisconsin
Nov. 4: Ohio State vs. Rutgers, SHI Stadium, Piscataway, New Jersey
Nov. 11: Ohio State vs. Michigan State, Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Nov. 18: Ohio State vs. Minnesota, Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Nov. 25: Ohio State vs. Michigan, Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Where will Ohio State QB CJ Stroud be picked in the 2023 NFL draft?