{"id":397789,"date":"2026-01-09T19:34:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T19:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/397789\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T19:34:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T19:34:08","slug":"kenyatta-jackson-jr-max-klare-among-ohio-state-players-who-still-have-nfl-draft-decisions-to-make","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/397789\/","title":{"rendered":"Kenyatta Jackson Jr., Max Klare Among Ohio State Players Who Still Have NFL Draft Decisions to Make"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tUpdate:\u00a0Kayden McDonald announced Friday that he is entering the 2026 NFL draft<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tFour juniors from Ohio State\u2019s 2025 roster have already announced their NFL draft decisions, but the most intriguing decisions are still to come.<\/p>\n

Losing Caleb Downs<\/a>, Carnell Tate<\/a> and Arvell Reese<\/a> hurts, as they were three of Ohio State\u2019s biggest stars this past season, but it would have come as a shock if any of them didn\u2019t enter the 2026 NFL draft. All three of them are projected as early first-round picks, so they had little to gain from a draft stock perspective by staying in Columbus for their senior years.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tOhio State is certainly happy to have Brandon Inniss<\/a> back for his senior season, as he\u2019ll provide crucial experience and leadership in the wide receiver room alongside Jeremiah Smith, but it would have been equally shocking if he had left early for the NFL draft. With just 36 catches for 271 receiving yards and three touchdowns in 2025, Inniss needs a bigger year in 2026 to climb draft boards.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Buckeyes also already know that Sonny Styles, Davison Igbinosun, Caden Curry, Will Kacmarek and\u00a0Lorenzo Styles Jr., among others, won\u2019t be back next season, as each of them exhausted their collegiate eligibility this past season \u2013 not to mention the more-than-20 Ohio State players<\/a> who have entered the transfer portal since it opened last week.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThere are numerous other Buckeyes with at least another year of eligibility, however, who have real decisions to make.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tDraft-eligible players who started for Ohio State this past season and haven\u2019t yet announced their future plans include defensive linemen Kayden McDonald and Kenyatta Jackson Jr., tight end Max Klare, cornerback Jermaine Mathews Jr. and offensive linemen Austin Siereveld, Luke Montgomery, Carson Hinzman and Phillip Daniels.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tBelow, we take a closer look at all of their decisions and the factors they could be weighing ahead of next Wednesday\u2019s deadline to enter the 2026 NFL draft, and make our predictions on what each of them will decide.\n<\/p>\n

\tDT Kayden McDonald<\/p>\n

\n\tMcDonald is Ohio State\u2019s top draft prospect who\u00a0hasn\u2019t yet declared for the draft. While he might not be quite the slam-dunk first-rounder that Downs, Reese and Tate are, he is widely projected to be a Round 1 pick after a dominant season for which he earned unanimous All-American honors.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile Downs and Tate were always expected to be gone after this season, and Reese\u2019s draft stock soared too high for Ohio State to expect to keep him, McDonald wasn\u2019t an obvious early draft entry candidate entering the year. After all, he had never started a game until Ohio State\u2019s season opener against Texas, when he burst onto the scene as one of the new stars of the Buckeye defense with an eight-tackle performance.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tBut considering he is a likely first-round pick, and it would be hard for him to elevate his draft stock much more after a unanimous All-American season, it would come as a surprise \u2013 a very pleasant surprise \u2013\u00a0if McDonald stayed at Ohio State for his senior year. The fact that the Buckeyes have already brought in a potential replacement for him at nose tackle in UCF transfer John Walker<\/a>, and are hosting two more defensive tackles this week in Alabama transfer James Smith and Pittsburgh transfer Francis Brewu, suggests they aren\u2019t expecting McDonald back.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tPrediction: Declares for draft\n<\/p>\n

\tDE Kenyatta Jackson Jr.<\/p>\n

\n\tGoing into this past season, Jackson was viewed as the most likely candidate on Ohio State\u2019s defensive line to have a breakout season and enter the NFL draft early as a potential first-round pick. Both Sonny Styles and Jeremiah Smith predicted at Big Ten Media Days<\/a> that Jackson would be a first-rounder, so Ohio State had reason to brace for the possibility of losing him after the 2025 season even though he still had two years of eligibility.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tA quiet start to the year, however, made the possibility of Jackson staying for his fifth-year senior season more probable. While Jackson came on strong in the second half of the regular season, ultimately finishing the year with 11 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks on 28 total tackles, he projects as a likely middle-round pick rather than a first-round pick right now.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tAs such, there\u2019s good reason for Jackson to consider staying at Ohio State for one more year for a chance to maximize his draft stock and likely be a captain as a veteran leader of the Buckeye defense. He may make as much money in 2026 by staying as he would by going pro; Ohio State will make sure he\u2019s well-compensated to return, as it\u2019s relying on his veteran leadership on the edge of the defensive line with Curry out of eligibility.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tJackson probably didn\u2019t expect to spend five years at Ohio State, and he just got his degree from Ohio State<\/a> last month, so he could decide he\u2019s ready to move on and play professional football. But he has plenty to potentially gain by returning for another season.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tPrediction: Stays for senior year\n<\/p>\n

\tTE Max Klare<\/p>\n

\n\tKlare, like Jackson, had a good-enough season in 2025 to be a middle-round draft pick but not a great-enough season to be a first-round pick, leaving him with a tough decision on whether to enter the 2026 NFL draft or play a fifth year of college football.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tKlare caught 43 passes in 2025, the third-most ever in a single season for an Ohio State tight end, but didn\u2019t make as many big plays as he did at Purdue, turning those 43 catches into just 448 yards and two touchdowns. While he had more blocking responsibilities at OSU than he did at Purdue and got better over the course of the season in that regard, he could still use another year of development in that area before going to the NFL.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tKlare came to Ohio State with the vision of becoming a more complete tight end, which he feels like he has, but he also said when asked about his impending NFL decision in December that he thought he still had \u201ca lot of room to grow in all aspects of my game.\u201d And with Tate on his way to the NFL, he could have a chance to emerge as Ohio State\u2019s No. 2 pass-catcher behind Jeremiah Smith if he stays for the 2026 season.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe expectation when Klare came to Ohio State was that he would be a Buckeye for one year before heading to the NFL, so he might well decide he\u2019s ready to make the jump to the next level. Ohio State has prepared for that possibility by bringing in former Ohio tight end Mason Williams<\/a> from the transfer portal. But Williams is more of a replacement for Kacmarek than Klare, so the door remains wide open for Klare to spend another year in Columbus if he wants to.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tAnother year as a Buckeye gives Klare a chance to both maximize his draft stock and become a more complete all-around tight end, and that guides my belief that he should utilize his redshirt season to play another year in scarlet and gray.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tPrediction: Stays for senior year\n<\/p>\n

\t\"Max<\/p>\n

\n\t\tMax Klare projects as a likely third- or fourth-round pick if he enters the 2026 NFL draft.\n\t<\/p>\n

\tCB Jermaine Mathews Jr.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile Jackson\u2019s draft stock likely improved over the course of the 2025 season, Mathews\u2019 may have gone the other way. While the junior cornerback showed the attributes to be a future pro in his first year as a starter, he had some struggles down the stretch of the season, allowing 12 catches for 147 yards and a touchdown on 14 targets in Ohio State\u2019s final four games of the year, per Pro Football Focus.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tMathews would still get drafted if he chose to go pro after three years as a Buckeye, especially after demonstrating the versatility to play both outside cornerback and nickel this past season. But he can certainly benefit from another year of seasoning at the college level before starting his NFL career.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tOhio State needs Mathews back more than anyone else on this list. He\u2019s the only returning starter at cornerback for the Buckeyes, and the depth chart is very thin behind him and Devin Sanchez after Aaron Scott Jr. and Bryce West entered the transfer portal. While the Buckeyes are looking to add a couple of transfer cornerbacks to offset those losses, their top priority is retaining Mathews.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tConsidering the compensation that will come with that, his Ohio roots and his growth potential in his second year as a starter, Mathews should be inclined to return for his senior season.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tPrediction: Stays for senior year\n<\/p>\n

\tOL Austin Siereveld, Luke Montgomery, Carson Hinzman and Phillip Daniels<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter starting right guard Tegra Tshabola entered the transfer portal, the possibility remains that Ohio State could lose other starters on its 2025 offensive line to enter the NFL draft. The expectation, though, is that all of Ohio State\u2019s other starters from this past season\u2019s offensive line will be back with the Buckeyes in 2026.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tHinzman told reporters after Ohio State\u2019s Cotton Bowl loss to Miami that he was \u201cprobably coming back.\u201d Siereveld and Montgomery said they still had to decide on their plans for 2026, but both talked about next season as though they\u2019d be returning. Daniels, who still has two years of eligibility along with Siereveld, needs at least another year of development at the collegiate level after struggling in pass protection down the stretch of this past season.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tNone of them were full-season starters in 2024, so all of them could use another year of experience and development before pursuing NFL careers. Siereveld would likely be a middle-round pick if he entered the draft this year, with Montgomery and Hinzman being candidates for Day 3 draft choices, but all of them have more to prove at the collegiate level in order to maximize their draft stock \u2013 especially with the struggles Ohio State\u2019s offensive line had<\/a> in its final two games of this past season.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIf the Buckeyes thought any of their offensive linemen would enter the draft early, they\u2019d likely be more aggressively pursuing offensive linemen in the transfer portal than they have so far. While changes up front are still possible due to Ohio State\u2019s late-season struggles in the trenches, signs point to the Buckeyes having four returning starters on their 2026 offensive line.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tPrediction: All four stay for 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Update:\u00a0Kayden McDonald announced Friday that he is entering the 2026 NFL draft. Four juniors from Ohio State\u2019s 2025…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":397790,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[349,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-397789","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-nfl","9":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=397789"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397789\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/397790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=397789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=397789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=397789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}