2018 NFL Draft: Ohio State DE Sam Hubbard declares

Sam Hubbard could push his way into the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft

Ohio State defensive end Sam Hubbard will forgo his senior season and declare for the 2018 NFL Draft.

Despite saying his decision was up in the air on Friday night following an outstanding performance in the Cotton Bowl, Hubbard tweeted a well-designed letter thanking the Buckeye fans.

Clearly, Hubbard had made his decision going into his final collegiate game.

Surely Hubbard’s performance Friday night didn’t cause second thoughts; he led the Buckeyes with 4 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and 3.5 tackles for loss in a 24-7 victory over USC.

Hubbard totaled 4.5 sacks during the regular season with 10 tackles for loss, a career-high after playing behind Joey Bosa and other NFL talents at Ohio State.

While not a first round lock, Hubbard will compete to sneak into the final picks of the first round in Dallas. He’s a superb athlete having played lacrosse growing up, and has electric hands as a pass rusher. He can penetrate the backfield working on both the outside and inside of a lineman and has just enough bend to work around the outside.

NFL teams may ask Hubbard to bulk up just a bit with Ohio State listing him at 6’5, 265 lbs. He’s a pure pass rusher who’ll need to develop as a run stopper and tackler away from the line of scrimmage. That shouldn’t be too much of an adjustment for him coming out of a very successful Ohio State program with a history of pass rushers.

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I project Hubbard to go early in the second round to a 4-3 team looking for a young pass rusher to light a fire under an aging veteran. New England could be a fit with the 49ers second round pick acquired for Jimmy Garoppolo.