📄: Fourth Round: Jack Sawyer | 📸: Jack Sawyer in pictures | 📺: Pick Announcement | 📃: How Sawyer fits with the Steelers | 📃: What to like about Sawyer | 📺: Tomlin calls Sawyer | 📺: Austin on Sawyer | 📺: Welcome to Pittsburgh
WHERE HE'S FROM: Sawyer is a native of Pickering, Ohio and was a two-sport star at Pickering North High School (football and basketball) prior to spending four seasons at Ohio State. He'll turn 23 on May 6.
WHAT HE'S DONE: Sawyer, 6-foot-41/8 and 260 pounds, became a starter in his junior season at OSU and saved his best for last as a senior in 2024, when he helped spearhead the Buckeyes' run to the national championship. His 2024 numbers included 16 starts, nine sacks, 11 tackles for a loss, one interception, seven passes defensed, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries, two of which he returned for touchdowns. In four College Football Playoff games, Sawyer amassed four-and-a-half of his sacks, five tackles for a loss, all seven of his passes defensed, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. His signature play, one destined to be remembered in Ohio State's storied football history, was an 83-yard sack, strip, scoop and score with just over two minutes remaining in Ohio State's 28-14 victory over Texas in the national semifinals.
NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah called Sawyer, a team captain at Ohio State, the "heartbeat" and the "lifeblood" of the Buckeyes' defense.
Draft analyst Dane Brugler of The Athletic had Sawyer ranked as the No. 11 edge rusher available and gave him a second-round grade as the 58th-best overall prospect.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: "I kept writing down 'rugged.' Every big moment he's been in, he's been at his best." _ Jeremiah.
"His activity level and the strength in his hands make him an every-down factor. Similar in ways to George Karlaftis (a first-round pick by Kansas City out of Purdue in 2022), he has the competitive play personality that NFL coaches will welcome as part of their rotation." _ Brugler.
