Garrett Wilson Looks Forward To Ending Ohio State’s Drought Of First-Round Wide Receivers

Wilson anticipates the Buckeyes will have several first-round picks at the position over the next few years.

Author:
Andrew Lind
Mar 24, 2022 5:53 PM EDT

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In the three months since he declared for the 2022 NFL Draft, former Ohio State wide receiver Garrett Wilson has conducted private workouts with multiple teams and put his talents on display at the scouting combine and pro day with the hopes of becoming the Buckeyes’ first first-round pick at his position since 2007.

“I can’t lie, this has been the most stressful three months of my life,” Wilson said when asked about the pre-draft process on Wednesday. “So much is riding on how you perform on a certain day. You can wake up not feeling good that morning and then what? I’m a competitor. I love doing this. Getting to that next level is my dream, and this is what it takes.

“I’m so blessed. I don’t want to say ‘lottery ticket’ because it took a lot of things to get here. My family made sacrifices for me to get in this position. All those things, I can’t say 'lottery ticket,' but I’m just super blessed and super thankful.”

The 6-foot-0 and 184-pound Wilson participated in a number of on-field drills at the combine earlier this month – including the 40-yard dash, vertical jump, broad jump and 20-yard shuttle – to solidify his status as one of the top wide receivers in his class. He then followed that up by running the full route tree at pro day in front of more than 100 personnel from all 32 NFL teams, catching passes – for what could be the final time –from redshirt sophomore quarterback C.J. Stroud.

“This is what I love doing,” Wilson said. “I grew up in a competitive household with three older brothers who kind of pushed me around a little bit. I had to grow up fast and try to get on that level to be able to compete. I love competition, I love playing ball and that’s kind of the mindset I take into everything I do.

“When you come out here and work hard every day and put the work in on the field and then go home all day and think about the game still, you want to make sure everything’s perfect. It’s always a chase to perfection, and that’s what I’ve been doing.”

Wilson will almost certainly be joined in the first round by fellow wide receiver Chris Olave, who also showcased his skills for the general managers, coaches and scouts on hand Wednesday. But while it would be easy for them to compete with one another for draft positioning, they’ve only pushed each other to get better every day.

“We both love each other and want to see each other go to a team that we can succeed at and be in the best scenario,” Wilson said. “It’s kind of just embracing the process, putting the work in with each other. I’d say it’s more pushing each other than competition. We’re not too caught up in where we go, we just want to get the right situations and make plays once we get there.”

It’s been 15 years since Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez went No. 9 and No. 32 overall, and Wilson is happy that he and Olave will soon end that drought. He’s also excited that they're likely going to be the first in a long line of first-round picks at the position to come out of Ohio State, with juniors Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Julian Fleming, sophomores Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka and others waiting in the wings.

“It’s special,” Wilson said. “You can’t forget about who came before you and you’ve got to realize the ones coming after you are looking (at you). It’s important to leave a legacy here and have something to remember you for. The fact that me and Chris have a chance to be first-rounders – the first in a long time at Ohio State – it would be really special and it’s something that we will hold dearly.”

“I don’t think it’s going to stop anytime soon. When you’ve got Coach (Brian Hartline) at the helm in the receivers room and guys like Jaxon, Marvin and Emeka all filling up the room and being an example for the young guys, I don’t think it’s stopping anytime soon.”

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