Is Jack Sawyer playing in the Senior Bowl? Looking at Ohio State's DE's decision

Ohio State Buckeyes star pass rusher Jack Sawyer was not seen at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, ahead of the 2025 NFL draft. The Senior Bowl is an All-Star event that gives NFL draft-eligible a chance to meet with NFL teams and practice in front of them to potentially boost their NFL draft stock.

With the college football season having taken a lot out of players, Sawyer and several Ohio State players opted out of the Senior Bowl. Sawyer did have an invitation, but with the Buckeyes celebration happening this week, he decided to opt out of the event.

Sawyer, along with quarterback Will Howard, defensive tackle Ty Hamilton, and offensive lineman Donovan Jackson, were the Ohio State players who ended up opting out of the Senior Bowl.

The star pass rusher could have declared for the 2024 NFL Draft, but he decided to return. Sawyer had a pivotal fumble recovery for a touchdown against Texas to punch the Buckeyes' ticket to the national championship, which coach Ryan Day could not stop gushing about:

"I can't say enough about Jack Sawyer," Day said. "He's a guy who loves being a Buckeye, he loves his teammates. He's done everything we've asked him to do. He's a captain. He's everything that we could possibly ask for in a captain. To make a play like that in that moment. We talked about it before the game, you wanna leave a legacy behind? You become a legend. He just became a legend at Ohio State."

Sawyer finished his college career helping the Buckeyes win the national championship. This season, he recorded 59 tackles, 9 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and 1 interception.

Will Jack Sawyer be selected in the 2025 NFL Draft?

Jack Sawyer is projected to be a late first-round pick or early second-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

SportingNews had Sawyer going 22nd overall to the Los Angeles Chargers, while CBS Sports' Mike Renner and the NFL Mock Draft Database have Sawyer sneaking into the first round at pick No. 32. The Athletic, meanwhile, had Sawyer being selected 35th overall, barely getting out of the first round.