NFL Draft Analyst Has 3rd-4th Round Grade On Ohio State Quarterback Julian Sayin

The 2026 NFL draft may have just ended, but it’s apparently never too early to look ahead. Although Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin was one of the most productive passers in college football last season, NFL Draft analyst Nate Tice of Yahoo Sports said he may not be selected highly in the 2027 NFL Draft if he declares for it after this season.

In an appearance on On3’s Andy & Ari show, Tice said he has a third-to-fourth-round grade on Sayin and raised concerns about his size and arm strength.

“I understand the appeal of him as a college player, but it’s a big difference and a big jump from how he wants to play to what he would have to do in the NFL,” Tice said. “He’s very accurate, I understand that, but that accuracy waives when he has to push the ball.”

Tice compared Sayin to former Oregon and current Cleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who had an up-and-down rookie season in the NFL last year.

“Watch a guy like Dillon Gabriel last year. Supremely accurate, very productive in college, but in the NFL, as soon as he had to push the ball, that ball was kind of floating on him,” Tice said. “His receivers kind of stopped running over the middle for him because they were tired of being teed off on by safeties. That’s where tools and traits come in. Sayin is a great example of this. I have a third/fourth round grade on him.” 

“I have seen a ton of hype about him. I know he plays at Ohio State, I know Ohio State’s always good. I know he was very productive and everything, but also just watch how those games ended up at the end of the season when things got tough, and things got tight. I thought you couldn’t really see him push that ball and throw it into those windows.”

Sayin was a Heisman Trophy finalist in his first year as Ohio State’s quarterback, but as Tice pointed out, he wasn’t quite as effective in his team’s two postseason losses. Sayin threw three combined interceptions in losses to eventual national champion participants Indiana and Miami (Fla.) and didn’t connect with open receivers down the field on certain occasions.

Tice said that Sayin, a 6-1, 208-pound quarterback, doesn’t have the arm strength of other undersized quarterbacks, who had success at the NFL level, such as Kyler Murray of the Minnesota Vikings and Russell Wilson, who formerly led the Seattle Seahawks offense.

Sayin will have the entire 2026 season to prove some of his doubters wrong. The Carlsbad, Calif.-native, who may not declare for the draft after next season, will go up against six teams that finished the 2025 season in the final CFP rankings.