Miami Dolphins Select Will Kacmarek in Third Round of 2026 NFL Draft

PITTSBURGH – Ohio State had its eighth Buckeye selected in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft, as tight end Will Kacmarek was taken 87th overall by the Miami Dolphins.

Ohio State's eight selections through the first three rounds at the most of any school in the country.

Additionally, with Ohio State tight end Max Klare being selected in the second round by the LA Rams. Klare and Kacmarek became the fourth and fifth tight ends drafted during the Ryan Day era:

Luke Farrell (2021: 145th Overall, 5th Round – Jacksonville Jaguars)
Jeremy Ruckert (2022: 101st Overall, 3rd Round– New York Jets)
Cade Stover (2024: 123rd Overall, 4th Round – Houston Texans)
Max Klare (2026: 61st Overall, 2nd Round – LA Rams)
Will Kacmarek (2026: 87th Overall, 3rd Round – Miami Dolphins)

Ohio State became the first school this decade to have two tight ends selected in the same NFL Draft class and this Buckeyes duo became the first in program history to accomplish this feat.

What They're Saying:

Head Coach Ryan Day:
- "The Dolphins are getting the toughest and best blocking tight end in the country. Will established himself quickly here at Ohio State and was consistent throughout his career, bringing a physical mentality every day. He is a reliable player who can be a weapon in the pass game and has a high football IQ. We are excited to watch his NFL journey begin."
Daniel Jeremiah (NFL Network):
- "Kacmarek was more of the better blocker of the two tight ends, Klare, a little more athletic than Kacmarek who was a little more physical in the run game. You see him flash where he'll get down the seam and show you something. He's just dependable, reliable. Didn't drop a single ball last year, and you can count on him in the run game."
Joel Klatt (FOX):
- "Late in the year, he was an absolute mauler in the run game. They went in Michigan and ran the football in that second half inclement weather. The best blocker on the field that day was Will Kacmarek. And he's the guy that transferred him from Ohio. So he found a role, and did it really well."

Dolphins - Buckeyes Connection:

Miami has now drafted 16 Buckeyes, most recently selecting Isaiah Prince in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

Kacmarek Ohio State Career Recap

Will is a big, talented tight end who played in 55 career games, including 24 as a Buckeye, and started 24 times
He finished with totals of 65 career catches for 761 yards and four touchdowns
Had 23 catches for 253 yards and two TDs as a Buckeye
Played in all 14 games in 2025, started 10 times and was named honorable mention all-Big Ten Conference
Career-long 47-yard reception came against Grambling State
Played in 12 games for the 2024 CFP national champions, started once (vs. Iowa) and had eight receptions for 86 yards
He missed four games during the middle part of the season with an injury
An OSU Scholar-Athlete majoring in human development and family services
Honors & Awards
- 2025: Honorable mention all-Big Ten Conference
- 2024: OSU Scholar-Athlete

Previous Press Releases on Ohio State NFL Draftees:

Carnell Tate Drafted No. 4 Overall by Tennessee Titans
Arvell Reese Drafted No. 5 Overall by New York Giants
Sonny Styles Drafted No. 7 Overall by Washington Commanders
Caleb Downs Drafted No. 11 Overall by Dallas Cowboys
Trio of Buckeyes Selected in Second Round of 2026 NFL Draft

Buckeyes 2026 NFL Draft Notes:

Ohio State's eight selections through the first three rounds at the most of any school in the country.
Ohio State had four Buckeyes taken in the top 11 and became the first program since the NFL merger to accomplish that feat (Previously: 1956: Notre Dame – 4 // 1967: Michigan State – 4).
- Carnell Tate, 4th Overall, Round 1 – Tennessee Titans
- Arvell Reese, 5th Overall, Round 1 – New York Giants
- Sonny Styles, 7th Overall, Round 1 – Washington Commanders
- Caleb Downs, 11th Overall, Round 1 – Dallas Cowboys
Overall with Carnell Tate, Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles all taken in the top 10 of the 2026 NFL Draft, Ohio State has now had three Buckeyes taken in the top 10 of the NFL Draft for just the second time in program history and is the only program to accomplish this feat multiple times:
- 2016:
  - Joey Bosa, 3rd Overall, Round 1 – San Diego Chargers
  - Ezekiel Elliott, 4th Overall, Round 1 – Dallas Cowboys
  - Eli Apple, 10th Overall, Round 1 – New York Giants
- 2026:
  - Carnell Tate, 4th Overall, Round 1 – Tennessee Titans
  - Arvell Reese, 5th Overall, Round 1 – New York Giants
  - Sonny Styles, 7th Overall, Round 1 – Washington Commanders
- As noted above, Oklahoma (2010) and Alabama (2021) are the only other programs to accomplish this once.
Ohio State had a pair of Buckeyes taken in the top five of the NFL Draft on four occasions over the last 30 years (since 1996) and is the only school in the country who has achieved this milestone this multiple times:
- 1997:
  - Orlando Pace, 1st Overall, Round 1 – St. Louis Rams
  - Shawn Springs, 3rd Overall, Round 1 – Seattle Seahawks
- 2016:
  - Joey Bosa, 3rd Overall, Round 1 – San Diego Chargers
  - Ezekiel Elliott, 4th Overall, Round 1 – Dallas Cowboys
- 2020:
  - Chase Young, 2nd Overall, Round 1 – Washington Redskins
  - Jeff Okudah, 3rd Overall, Round 1 – Detroit Lions
- 2026:
  - Carnell Tate, 4th Overall, Round 1 – Tennessee Titans
  - Arvell Reese, 5th Overall, Round 1 – New York Giants
- With that, Alabama (2023), Oklahoma (2010), Auburn (2005), Texas (2002), Penn State (2000) and Illinois (1996) have all accomplished this on one occasion.
Since Ryan Day officially was named Ohio State's head coach on Dec. 4, 2018, Ohio State has had 23 alumni declare for the NFL Draft early and forgo their final year of eligibility and all of them have been drafted with 14 being picked in the first round.
- 2019:
  - Nick Bosa, 2nd Overall, Round 1 – San Francisco 49ers
  - Dwayne Haskins, 15th Overall, Round 1 – Washington Redskins
  - Michael Jordan, 136th Overall, Round 4 – Cincinnati Bengals
- 2020:
  - Chase Young, 2nd Overall, Round 1 – Washington Redskins
  - Jeff Okudah, 3rd Overall, Round 1 – Detroit Lions
  - J.K. Dobbins, 55th Overall, Round 2 – Baltimore Ravens
- 2021:
  - Justin Fields, 11th Overall, Round 1 – Chicago Bears
  - Tommy Togiai, 132nd Overall, Round 4 – Cleveland Browns
- 2022:
  - Garrett Wilson, 10th Overall, Round 1 – New York Jets
  - Nicholas Petit-Frere, 69th Overall, Round 3 – New Orleans Saints
- 2023:
  - C.J. Stroud, 2nd Overall, Round 1 – Houston Texans
  - Paris Johnson Jr., 6th Overall, Round 1 – Arizona Cardinals
  - Jaxon Smith-Njigba, 20th Overall, Round 1 – Seattle Seahawks
  - Luke Wypler, 190th Overall, Round 6 – Cleveland Browns
- 2024:
  - Marvin Harrison Jr., 4th Overall, Round 1 – Arizona Cardinals
  - Mike Hall Jr., 54th Overall, Round 2 – Cleveland Browns
- 2025:
  - Josh Simmons, 32nd Overall, Round 1 – Kansas City Cheifs
  - Quinshon Judkins, 36th Overall, Round 2 – Cleveland Browns
- 2026:
  - Carnell Tate, 4th Overall, Round 1 – Tennessee Titans
  - Arvell Reese, 5th Overall, Round 1 – New York Giants
  - Caleb Downs, 11th Overall, Round 1 – Dallas Cowboys
  - Kayden McDonald, 36th Overall, Round 2 -- Houston Texans
  - Max Klare, 61st Overall, Round 2 – LA Rams
Ohio State's currently active streak of at least one first rounder goes back to 2016, the longest in the Big Ten and the second longest in the NCAA, trailing only Alabama who trace their streak back to 2009.
Ohio State further set a record on Thursday, April 23 by becoming the first school to reach 99 draft picks in a school's history.

Total First Rounders by School (current through 2026 first round)

Rank	School	Total First Round Picks
1.	Ohio State	99
2.	USC	87
3.	Alabama	85
4.	Notre Dame	73
5.	Miami	71
6.	Florida	60
7.	Texas	58
8.	Michigan	55
9.	LSU	54
10.	Georgia	53
11.	Oklahoma	51
12.	Tennessee	48
13.	Florida State	47
14.	Penn State	45
15.	Clemson	42
16.	Texas A&M	38
17.	UCLA	37
18.	Michigan State	36
19.	Nebraska	34
20.	Auburn	33
T21.	Washington	31
T21.	Wisconsin	31
T23.	Cal	27
T23.	North Carolina	27
T23.	Pitt	27

Since Ryan Day officially was named Ohio State's head coach on Dec. 4, 2018, Ohio State has produced 20 First Round picks and a total of 67 total drafted players. As noted below, that first round total ranks second in the country.
Position-Specific Notes:
- Linebackers:
  - Arvell Reese was selected by the Tennessee Titans with the fifth pick and Sonny Styles was taken seventh overall by the Washington Redskins in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
  - Those historic selections mark the first time that an Ohio State linebacker was taken in the first round since Darron Lee went 20th overall to the New York Jets in 2016.
  - Additionally, they are the first pair of Ohio State linebackers to both be selected in the first round since A.J. Hawks (5th Overall, Green Bay Packers) and Bobby Carpenter (18th Overall, Dallas Cowboys) were taken in the 2006 NFL Draft.
  - Linebackers Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles marked the first time a program has had two linebackers selected in the top 10 of the same NFL Draft.
- Defensive Line:
  - Kayden McDonald was selected by the Houston Texans with the 36th overall pick in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
  - He became the highest drafted Ohio State middle-of-the-line defensive tackle since Johnathan Hankins went 49th overall in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft to the New York Giants.
- Defensive Backs:
  - Caleb Downs was selected by the Dallas Cowboys with the 11th pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. He became the first safety to be selected this high since 2018 when Minkah Fitzpatrick was also selected with the 11th pick. Additionally, he is the highest drafted Ohio State safety since Malik Hooker was taken 15th overall by the Indianapolis Colts in 2015. Overall, he is the first safety in the Ryan Day Era (2019-Present) to be selected in the top 13 picks of the NFL Draft.
  - Davison Igbinosun was selected 62nd overall in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft on Friday night by the Buffalo Bills. Igbinosun became the highest drafted cornerback for Ohio State since Damon Arnette (19th Overall) and Jeff Okudah (3rd Overall) went in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
- Tight Ends:
  - Ohio State became the first school this decade to have two tight ends selected in the same NFL Draft, with Max Klare going 61st overall in Round 2 to the Rams and Will Kacmarek going 87th overall in Round 3 to the Dolphins.
    - They were also the first tight end duo in school history to be drafted in the same class.
  - Additionally, with Ohio State tight end Max Klare being selected in the second round by the LA Rams. Klare and Kacmarek became the fourth and fifth tight ends drafted during the Ryan Day era:
    - Luke Farrell (2021: 145th Overall, 5th Round – Jacksonville Jaguars)
    - Jeremy Ruckert (2022: 101st Overall, 3rd Round– New York Jets)
    - Cade Stover (2024: 123rd Overall, 4th Round – Houston Texans)
    - Max Klare (2026: 61st Overall, 2nd Round – LA Rams)
    - Will Kacmarek (2026: 87th Overall, 3rd Round – Miami Dolphins)
- Wide Receivers Selected in 1st Round Since 2022:
  - Since 2022, all five Ohio State wide receivers that were drafted have gone in the first round, with an average draft position of 11.3. Additionally, the Buckeyes have had the highest receiver taken in three of five NFL Drafts.
    - Carnell Tate in 2026 (No. 4 to the Tennessee Titans)
    - Marvin Harrison in 2024 (No. 4 to the Arizona Cardinals)
    - Jaxon Smith-Njigba in 2023 (No. 20 to the Seattle Seahawks)
  - With Carnell Tate's selection to the Tennessee Titans with 4th pick, it marked the first time in Ohio State history that a wide receiver was selected in the first round in five straight drafts. He also became Ohio State's sixth wide receiver in the last five years to have his name called in the first round.

First Round Wide Receivers by School Since 2022

Rank	School	1st Round WRs	Total WR Selected	Percentage of WR Selected in 1st Round
1.	Ohio State	6	6	100%
T2.	Texas	2	4	50%
T2.	USC	3	5	50%
T2.	LSU	2	3	67%
T5.	Alabama	1	3	33%
T5.	Florida	1	3	33%
T5.	Washington	1	3	33%
T5.	Colorado	1	3	33%
T5.	Penn State	1	2	50%
T5.	South Carolina	1	2	50%
T5.	Arizona	1	2	50%
T5.	Boston College	1	1	100%
T5.	Arizona State	1	1	100%
T5.	Texas A&M	1	1	100%
T5.	Indiana	1	1	100%

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