Ohio State is a school that is swimming in pools of top end prospects and NFL level talent. Although they have a plethora of 4- and 5-star recruits, Josh Simmons did not struggle to stand out in his time at OSU. The big-time high school recruit has picked Ohio State as his home through his entire collegiate career and will have a busy spring representing the Buckeyes.
Unfortunately for the top end collegiate tackle, his 2024 season came to a halting end with a knee injury. With that being said, Simmons is still viewed as one of the best OL in the draft and may have dropped in stock but declared nonetheless this spring. Seeing himself avoid the massive first round tackle class from 2024, Simmons will continue to pursue his NFL dream in hopes of hearing his name night 1.
PLAYER INFO:
Name: Josh Simmons
Jersey #: 71
Position: Offensive Tackle
School: Ohio State
Class: Senior
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 310 lbs
Josh Simmons Strengths
Simmons arm length and height is the key to his style of game. Standing at 6’5″ with long extended arms gives him an upper edge in the pass game and to transfer to an OT at the NFL level.
Josh has an elite first step off the snap in the run game. In the multiple games watched, it is rare for him to get beat with speed on the inside.
He has great strength in the pass game to stop long arm and power rush moves vs more bulky defenders.
Josh Simmons Weaknesses
Altogether, Simmons balance is below average. He seems to for a habit to overextend, which can be hit or miss in the technicality of his blocking vs more elite 5 tech rushers.
In the pass game, Josh working well with power rushers comes with struggling with speed rushers. This is tied to the balance issue as he shows himself to be avoiding bend and overextending his upper body.
He has a thin overall lower body, which at the next level may tone down ability to stonewall defenders like Garrett and Parsons when he was doing it well at the collegiate level. He will need to develop in due time.
Draft Projection
If healthy, there is no doubt in my mind Simmons would be a top 3 OT off the board and probably a top half of the first-round guy. With that being said, I can still see a team taking their shot at the back end of round 1/early round 2 due to previous film and upside. Simmons is one of the only true OT bodies in the entire draft and that can lead him to be a project pick similar to Guyton in the late first round of 2024.
I feel teams like the Patriots, Chiefs and Saints going for Josh in that 28-40 range is a perfect fit. They are tackle desperate and can use true OT bodies. My NFL comparison and play style was former NE/NYG Nate Solder, who was thinner in weight but has good body structure to remain on the outside edge.
Simmons was an impressive prospect and should have a solid NFL career with the right coaching and the patient time to wait for him to develop into an NFL caliber guy.
