Dreams of being a NFL player are a reality for Ohio State wide receiver Garrett Wilson as he heard his name called on Thursday night in Las Vegas at the NFL Draft. The New York Jets used the No. 10 pick of the first round to take the 6-foot, 183-pounder where he will link up with quarterback Zach Wilson in the very near future.
Wilson is the first Ohio State wide receiver to be drafted in the first round since Ted Ginn Jr. (9) and Anthony Gonzalez (32) went in round one of the 2007 Draft. Teammate Chris Olave will likely make it a twofer, matching that 2007 feat of a pair of Ohio State receivers going in the first round.
It is an amazing stat to consider when you realize that it would be only the 7th time that this has happened in the same NFL Draft since 1967. For a little more perspective, Ohio State can join Alabama (7) and LSU (6) as the only schools to have five wide receivers selected in the first round since 2000.
Many thought that Wilson would be the first receiver off the board but he was a couple of picks behind Drake London who went to the Atlanta Falcons.
Wilson was named as a second-team AP All-American in 2021, a season where Wilson hauled in 70 receptions along with 12 touchdowns for 1,058 yards, joining Jaxon Smith-Njigba as 1,000-yard receivers for the Buckeyes.
Over the course of Wilson’s career, the talented wideout would rack up 143 catches, 23 touchdowns and more than 2,200 yards of receiving under the watchful eye of Brian Hartline and Ryan Day.
The last time the Jets selected an Ohio State player it was Darron Lee in the first round of the 2016 draft.
While it will take some time for Wilson to sign his NFL contract, he has already started earning with a recent announcement that he joined the team at Adidas. He joins established players such as Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, Juju Smith-Schuster and Trevor Lawrence under the label.
Wilson declared with a year of eligibility remaining on the table but it was very obvious that 2021 was going to be Wilson’s final year with the Buckeyes. He joined Olave and several others in not taking part in Ohio State’s 48-45 win in the 2022 Rose Bowl game.