Two Ohio State players make Pro Football Focus' top 50 CFB players
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If you are a college football junkie who likes stats and analytics, may we suggest — if you don't already — giving Pro Football Focus a follow. Yes, the popular analytic website features the NFL, but it is also big in college football. You can get grades by teams, units, and players throughout the season, either game-by-game or as a cumulative, and that's just scratching the surface.
As you would expect, many Ohio State players grade out very well, and we love to keep an eye on things. PFF recently released its top 50 college football players for 2026, and there are a couple of Buckeyes who made the list, and fairly high, if we might add. You can probably guess both of the players, but it's also interesting to see what Dalton Wasserman and Max Chadwick said about the duo. Yes, that duo is, of course, receiver Jeremiah Smith and quarterback Julian Sayin.
Here's where they checked in and what PFF said about both.
No. 1 – Jeremiah Smith
What PFF says
"Smith tops this list for the second straight year, joining Trevor Lawrence as the only player to do so. Over his first two college seasons, Smith leads all wide receivers in PFF receiving grade (92.9), receiving yards (2,554) and receiving touchdowns (27). He also leads all wide receivers in PFF Wins Above Average (PFF WAA) over that span. Smith is a generational talent at the position who will have NFL teams tripping over themselves to draft him in 2027."
No. 4 – Julian Sayin
What PFF says
"Sayin was historically accurate in his first season as Ohio State’s starting quarterback. The redshirt freshman completed 77.0% of his passes, the third-highest completion percentage in college football history, trailing only the 77.4% marks posted by Bo Nix in 2023 and Mac Jones in 2020. Sayin’s 74.2% accurate throw rate also set the PFF College single-season record. He led all FBS quarterbacks in PFF passing grade (92.9) and earned a grade below 70.0 only once all season. Sayin is the only 2025 Heisman Trophy finalist returning to school, and he should be considered one of the leading candidates to win the award this season."
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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Two Ohio State players make Pro Football Focus' top 50 CFB players
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