The Ohio State Buckeyes were the best team in college football a season ago and won the first annual 12-team College Football Playoff in January.
Several of the team's players are also highly coveted in this NFL Draft cycle. They had 15 players invited to the scouting combine in Indianapolis last week, which was more than any other college program in the country.
While the Buckeyes had NFL-level players all over the field last season, the Las Vegas Raiders should be especially intrigued by their slew of offensive weapons set to be available in April's draft. Some of these prospects spoke highly of Chip Kelly at the combine, but none more than the Ohio State all-time leader in receiving yards, Emeka Egbuka, who praised the Raiders' entire staff last week.
Ohio State WR Emeka Egbuka is a fan of Raiders' Pete Carroll, Chip Kelly
Egbuka spoke to the media at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis last week and was asked by several media outlets about his thoughts on the Raiders' new staff. He said hiring Kelly as the team's offensive coordinator was a great choice, and he went into great detail about what makes him so special and why he enjoyed working with him so much.
Ohio State WR Emeka Egbuka said Ryan Day needed someone he could fully trust which is why they had so much success on offense
— Raiders Report Mitchell Renz (@MitchellRenz365) February 28, 2025
Chip Kelly continues to get A LOT of love at the NFL Combine pic.twitter.com/o8AnKb7omc
His praise for the new regime in Las Vegas did not stop there. Egbuka is from the state of Washington and grew up as a Seattle Seahawks fan, so he admitted that he was a bit starstruck meeting new Raiders head coach Pete Carroll.
Emeka Egbuka was HYPED to meet Pete Carroll during his NFL Combine meeting https://t.co/AZVQXPOXK5 pic.twitter.com/tzowRtPddk
— Raiders Report Mitchell Renz (@MitchellRenz365) February 28, 2025
In his four seasons at Ohio State, Egbuka totaled 2,868 receiving yards, which is the most in program history. This mark is more than notable Buckeye receivers like Cris Carter, Terry McLaurin, Garrett Wilson, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
He also added 26 all-purpose touchdowns in his career as a Buckeye on 229 career touches. While he was never really the main target at Ohio State, he always found a way to be productive no matter the circumstances around him.
Egbuka will, in all likelihood, be a late first-round pick, meaning the Raiders will have to reach for him at No. 6 or hope he falls into the early second round to grab him. If he is available at pick No. 37, Las Vegas would likely consider him because of his connection with Kelly and because the team needs to upgrade their wide receiver room. It sounds like Egbuka wouldn't mind being a Raider either.