Ohio State has several talented wide receivers in the NFL.
Six former Buckeyes wide receivers (including transfer Jameson Williams) have been taken in the first round of the NFL Draft over the last four years. The league leader in receiving yards entering Week 11 is also a Buckeye. In fact, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s 1,041 yards are the most for a player through his team’s first nine games in NFL history.
[MORE: ‘We’re Taking Over the League’: Ohio State’s Receiver Pipeline to NFL Stardom]
A couple of other former Ohio State wide receivers (Emeka Egbuka, Chris Olave) are on pace to join Smith-Njigba in the 1,000-yard club this season. Marvin Harrison Jr. could also reach that threshold this season (depending on how long his recent appendectomy surgery sidelines him), while Garrett Wilson and Terry McLaurin each recorded 1,000 yards in 2024.
So, which Ohio State wide receiver is the best of the group? Well, I recently talked to nearly all the Ohio State receivers in the NFL, so I used the opportunity to ask them — and quarterback C.J. Stroud — to award superlatives for the individual bests among the Buckeyes in a few key traits.
However, there is one person who won’t pick any favorites.
“I’m out of that game. I’m not doing that,” Ohio State offensive coordinator and receivers coach Brian Hartline told me, not unlike a father choosing a favorite child. “In my head I have them, but I’ll never say them. Those guys can answer. I love those guys.”
Now, let’s dive into what the players said about each other.
Best hands?
Our six-player panel was split evenly between two receivers: Garrett Wilson got three votes (Smith-Njigba, McLaurin, Stroud) and so did Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Olave, Egbuka, Harrison). Most commendable is that no receiver voted for himself.
Best route-runner?
There’s a clear-cut winner in this one, as Marvin Harrison Jr. got at least a share of five of the six ballots.
“Can I include myself?” Harrison said. “I’ll give myself that one.”
Smith-Njigba and Olave both picked Harrison, as well, and two others couldn’t pick a single winner. Egbuka said it goes to Harrison or Wilson, and Stroud said his vote is “a two-way tie between Marv and Jaxon.”
The lone dissenting vote? McLaurin picked Smith-Njigba for the best route-runner from Ohio State.
Fastest receiver?
The winner, by an impressive margin, is Saints receiver Chris Olave, who ran a 4.26 40-yard dash at his NFL Combine workout in 2022.
“I’ve got to say myself,” Olave said.
Olave’s vote was echoed by Smith-Njigba, Harrison and Stroud.
McLaurin, meanwhile, said, “I’d probably say me.” While Egbuka picked Olave, he had a cool caveat to his choice.
“If you count Jameson Williams, he’s faster than Chris and Terry,” Egbuka said. “I don’t know if he counts himself. I don’t know if it’s fair for us to count him. He was there when I got there. If you want to put him in the mix, he’s the fastest. It’s not even a question.”
Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.
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