Curtis Samuel declares for the 2017 NFL Draft

Ohio State Buckeyes star junior running back Curtis Samuel will forgo his final year of collegiate eligibility to enter the 2017 NFL Draft.

On Monday afternoon, Ohio State Buckeyes running back/wide receiver Curtis Samuel became the latest player to forgo his final year of collegiate eligibility to enter the 2017 NFL Draft.

Samuel had a breakout 2016 NCAA season for the Buckeyes. He was widely regarded as Ohio State’s best offensive weapon for a team that made it to the 2017 College Football Playoff.

For a running back/wide receiver hybrid of Samuel’s caliber, it is totally understandable why he would leave school a year early to enter the NFL Draft. There are only so many hits a tailback can take before he rapidly decays as a football player.

Samuel was a highly effective player in college. He finished his Buckeyes career with 1,286 rushing yards on 172 carries for 15 touchdowns. As a receiver, Samuel had 107 career receptions for 1,249 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.

CBS.com has Samuel as the No. 11 wide receiver on its draft board with a third-round grade. He fits the mold of a productive NFL scat back. In the pass-heavy NFL, Samuel will find his way into a running back rotation in year one.

What will probably be a telling sign of his success at the NFL level is if he can factor in pass protection. That skill was what skyrocketed his former Ohio State teammate Ezekiel Elliott to the No. 4 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. Can Samuel do that at the next level?

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This is shaping up to be a very deep running back and wide receiver NFL Draft. It really all depends on what type of offense Samuel lands with that will determine his NFL success. While he could have gone back to Ohio State for his senior season in 2017, Samuel’s draft stock is already at its apex.