COLUMBUS – Buckeyes of one kind or another went 1-2-3 in this year’s NFL draft as Ohio State graduate and three-year team member Joe Burrow, out of LSU and Athens High School went No. 1 to Cincinnati.
Defensive end Chase Young went No. 2 to Washington, cornerback Jeff Okudah No. 3 to the Lions.
The Las Vegas Raiders made cornerback Damon Arnette the fourth Buckeye first-rounder by taking him with the 19th overall pick.
Burrow, the 2019 Heisman Trophy winner led the Tigers to the national championship in a record-setting season. He completed an outstanding 76.3% of his passes for 5,671 yards, 60 touchdowns and just six interceptions.
He played his last two seasons at LSU after transferring from Ohio State. He joins a team that went 2-14 in 2019 under first-year head coach Zac Taylor.
“It’s a dream come true to finally be picked and to get to play so close to home. Me and my family couldn’t be more excited about it,” Burrow said.
The Redskins believe they have given their defense a major upgrade by selecting Young, long considered the top non-quarterback available in the draft.
He led the nation with 16 1/2 sacks and had 46 tackles last season to become a Heisman Trophy finalist.
Washington held onto the second pick and selected Young after receiving calls to trade down.
Young is Ron Rivera’s first draft pick since taking over as the Redskins’ new head coach. Rivera is trying to turn the Skins around after they went 3-13 last season.
Okudah was the top-rated cornerback in the draft and the highest-drafted cornerback since Shawn Springs was selected from the same school by Seattle in the 1997 draft, when Buckeye Orlando Pace was the top pick.
Detroit went into the opening round desperately needing to help a defense that ranked No. 31 in the league last season.
Lions ownership gave general manager Bob Quinn and coach Matt Patricia a chance to come back after they lost nine straight and 12 of 13 games to close out a three-win season in 2019.
Quinn and Patricia will have a better chance to keep their jobs if their first-round pick produces as a rookie.
Arnette was a three-year starter for the Buckeyes wand is the 31st Ohio State defensive back drafted since 2000, the most in the nation, which has earned OSU the nickname “DBU.”
The draft was scheduled to be held in Las Vegas before the pandemic turned it into a virtual selection show. The league announced during the first round that Vegas will host the draft in 2022.