By Ross Jackson
The connection between the New Orleans Saints and the Ohio State Buckeyes is well-known. The Saints selected five Buckeyes players in the NFL Draft between 2016 and 2022. They also added several alumni from the school in free agency. Defensive end Chase Young and former cornerbacks Bradley Roby and Eli Apple and wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. were among them.
This year, the Saints and vice president and assistant general manager of college personnel Jeff Ireland have several chances to keep the pipeline open.
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Saints are hosting a pre-draft visit with one of the numerous talented Ohio State draft prospects on Tuesday: offensive tackle Josh Simmons.
The 6-foot-5 and 317 pound lineman is considered a potential first-round pick. But should he fall into the second round, it would make sense that he would be under major consideration for the Saints.
New Orleans has two tackles that new head coach Kellen Moore says the team feels comfortable with in their starting lineman. Fourth-year tackle Trevor Penning showed improvement last year under then-offensive line coach John Benton. Penning was moved from left tackle to right tackle in the process. Second-year tackle Taliese Fuaga had All-Pro moments at left tackle for the team, starting as a rookie.
The Saints could still take Simmons, should he fall at No. 40 overall, but then they would need to look at how they can shuffle their offensive line to get their five best players on the field. Not a bad situation to work through.
Simmons finished his college football career allowing just five sacks and 40 total pressures over 1,005 career pass blocking snaps. He is also impressive as a run blocker. His athleticism and movement ability are remarkable
Had a lot of fun watching Josh Simmons block for runs and screens vs Iowa. He’s got a tantalizing blend of speed and power pic.twitter.com/LfNqGZyIZk
— Theo Ash (@TheoAshNFL) March 19, 2025
The biggest question he’ll have to answer on visits will be related to medical checks. Simmons suffered a torn patellar tendon (initially reported as an ACL injury) last year that ended his season early. If his medicals come out clean, he may remain a first-round selection.
He played exclusively left tackle in 2023 and 2024 but manned the right tackle role in 2022 with the Buckeyes.
That would make him an option at No. 9 overall for New Orleans, however the pick may be a little rich depending on who else is on the board. A fall to the second round, a la center Erik McCoy in 2019, feels like be the most likely scenario under which he winds up in New Orleans.
