You’re Nuts: Which Former Ohio State Player Are You Most Interested In Watching In The Nfl This Year?

While the current Ohio State Buckeyes kick off fall camp today, the NFL preseason gets underway in Canton at this year’s Hall of Fame Game tonight. Along with having four players selected with the first 11 picks in April’s NFL Draft, there are plenty of other former Ohio State players who have established themselves in the league, including Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who was the NFL Offensive Player of the Year last season.

Entering the 2026 NFL season, there are plenty of interesting storylines surrounding former Buckeye players. Can C.J. Stroud finally lead the Houston Texans to a deep run in the playoffs? Will Marvin Harrison Jr. be able to bounce back after a disappointing sophomore campaign for the Arizona Cardinals? How will running backs Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson fare in their second season in the NFL? Those are only a sampling of what we have to look forward to this season when it comes to Ohio State players around the NFL this season.

Today we want to know which Ohio State player in the NFL you are most interested in watching this season. Maybe it’s a player who was your favorite Buckeye when he was wearing the scarlet and gray, or it could be one who is playing on your favorite NFL team. There are other former Ohio State players who have something to prove either after signing a big contract or are coming back from injury. Then there is a guy like Justin Fields, who is likely on his last shot in the league after playing for three different teams over the last three seasons.

Today’s question: Which former Ohio State player are you most interested in watching in the NFL this year?

We’d love to hear your choices. Either respond to us on Twitter at @Landgrant33 or leave your choice in the comments.

Brett’s answer: Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints

After being selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints, Chris Olave burst onto the scene with 1,000-yard seasons in his first two years in the NFL. Then in 2024, Olave was limited to eight games after suffering two concussions, which raised the total number of concussions he suffered since entering the NFL to four. With so many concussions in such a short amount of time, there were many wondering if it would be best for Olave to call it a career.

Olave decided he wanted to return to the field and started 16 games last season, setting career highs with 100 receptions, 1,163 yards, and nine touchdowns. The only game Olave missed was the season finale against Atlanta when it was reported he developed a blood clot in one of his lungs. With his play during the season, Olave earned second-team All-Pro honors for a Saints team that won four of their last five games after a 2-10 start in Kellen Moore’s first season as head coach.

Since New Orleans is playing in an NFC South that was won by the Carolina Panthers with just an 8-9 record last year, the Saints have a very real shot at winning the division this year. Quarterback Tyler Shough was solid as a rookie last year, compiling a 5-4 record in nine starts. Olave will get some help at wide receiver this year, as New Orleans drafted Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson in the first round. With Olave, Tyson, and tight end Juwan Johnson, the Saints have a number of dangerous receiving options, complemented by the signing of Jacksonville running back Travis Etienne.

It’s easy to root for Olave after all he has been through on the football field when it comes to injuries. Last season was an indication of how good Olave can be when he is healthy, and hopefully he can stay on the field this year. If he can, New Orleans could be a sleeper in the NFC.

Matt’s answer: C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans

There are flashier former Ohio State players to watch in the NFL this season. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is coming off an incredible year, Marvin Harrison Jr. is still waiting for his inevitable breakout, and a new collection of Buckeye rookies will begin figuring out whether their games translate to the highest level of the sport. But no former Ohio State player enters the 2026 season with more at stake than C.J. Stroud.

Following his nearly flawless rookie season, it seemed like Stroud had immediately established himself as one of the NFL’s next great quarterbacks. He was accurate, composed, and preternaturally comfortable leading a previously directionless Houston franchise. More importantly for those of us in Buckeye Nation, he appeared to have finally exorcised the increasingly annoying talking point that Ohio State quarterbacks couldn’t succeed in the NFL.

However, the past two seasons have complicated that coronation considerably. Stroud threw for career lows of 3,041 yards and 19 touchdowns in 2025, and Houston’s season ended with him throwing four interceptions while completing just 42.6% of his passes in a playoff loss to New England. Suddenly, the question is no longer how quickly Stroud will ascend into the NFL’s elite tier; it is whether the brilliance of 2023 was a sign of something special or simply an incredible introduction that he will never be able to replicate.

I still believe in the potential of the former Buckeye, but admittedly, some of that confidence comes from my fondness for having watched him at Ohio State. I remember when Stroud faced very similar types of scrutiny in Columbus. For much of his Buckeye career, a vocal segment of the fan base treated every incomplete pass like evidence that he lacked toughness, leadership, or whatever other nebulous trait they had decided he was missing that week. Then he went into the Peach Bowl against Georgia and delivered one of the greatest quarterback performances in program history.

That game did not end with a championship, but it showed exactly what Stroud can be when he plays freely and confidently. Houston needs that version of him again.

The Texans still believe he is their quarterback, but they declined to give him a long-term extension this offseason, creating an obvious prove-it element to Year 4. Houston has an elite defense and enough talent to contend, but it will not escape the divisional round unless its quarterback begins resembling the player who transformed the franchise as a rookie.

For Stroud, this season is about more than statistics or a new contract. It is about reclaiming the trajectory that once appeared inevitable. Of all the Buckeyes in the NFL, to me, no one has a wider range of possible outcomes — or a more fascinating opportunity to remind everyone just how special he can be.