NFL Draft: Detroit Lions take Jeff Okudah at No. 3

The Detroit Lions drafted Ohio State Buckeyes junior cornerback Jeff Okudah with the No. 3 pick of the first round Thursday night.

“His skill set is off the chart,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said on ABC’s broadcast. “He can change direction. He’s got great length. ... He’s a student of the game. He’s a guy you walk down the hallway late in the night, and he’s the only guy watching film. Detroit’s getting a really good player here.”

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Day coached the first three players selected in the draft. LSU quarterback and former Buckeye Joe Burrow went to the Bengals with the first pick. The Washington Redskins selected Ohio State junior defensive end Chase Young with the second pick.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Okudah, from Grand Prairie Texas and South Grand Prairie High School, was a unanimous All-American as a junior last fall. He was the first Ohio State cornerback to achieve that.

Okudah is the fifth Ohio State defensive back drafted in the first round in the last five year, following Denzel Ward (No. 4, Cleveland Browns, 2018), Marshon Lattimore (No. 11, New Orleans Saints, 2017), Malik Hooker (No. 15, Indianapolis Colts, 2017) and Eli Apple (No. 10, New York Giants, 2016).

#OnePride nation, welcome @jeffokudah to the squad ❗️ pic.twitter.com/EpDFZn4pKo
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) April 24, 2020

Your skills on the field are only a small part of who you are as a person. You have overcome so much & we could not be prouder to have witnessed Jefe in the scarlet and gray ‼️

Can’t wait to watch your life change forever @jeffokudah.#GoBucks #DevelopedHere #NFLDraft #BIA pic.twitter.com/3ehD1MYckZ
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) April 23, 2020