Ohio has given us countless great athletes playing in the NFL, think James Harrison, Cris Carter, Nick Bosa, and so many more. And since football is an institution in all of America, we are not surprised that Ohio produced some of the best players the game has ever seen. With that much talent in one place, we can only imagine how competitive it is even to reach the NFL to play professional football. Let’s look at the top 10 most talented football players from Ohio.

Charles Woodson

Born on October 7, 1976, Charles was determined to become a football player. Before we get started in his career, consider this. To become a professional football player, you have to be the best of the best. And it’s super rare to break into the NFL without attending college. Even when we look at sports betting. It’s a highly competitive pastime, and if you are a top-performing player, this affects betting outcomes and NFL betting lines too. So always keep this in mind when looking at players and teams. Right, back to Charles.

When Charles was at Ross High School, he was dubbed Mr. Football. Everyone knew him for his antics on the field. When he finished his high school football career, these were his closing stats: rushing yards (3,861) and scoring (466 points). Charles attended the University of Michigan, playing for the Wolverines for his college career from 1995 to 1997.

Then came his big break in the NFL. First drafted by the Oakland Raiders in 1998, Charles would go on to play for the side until 2006. During his tenure with the Raiders, he played in his first Super Bowl in 2002. In April 2006, he joined the Green Bay Packers. Where he played until his retirement in 2013. His most notable achievement was winning the Super Bowl in 2011.

James Harrison

In high school, James joined the football team and excelled in the sport. After university, he played for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2002 to 2003 and Baltimore Ravens from 2003 to 2004, only as an off-season player. His first gig as a player was in 2004 for Reign Fire. Thereafter he joined the Steelers again from 2004 to 2012, winning two Super Bowls with the team, one in 2006 and the other in 2009. In 2013, he transferred to the Cincinnati Bengals, and in 2014, he went back to the Steelers, where he played until 2017. In that same year, he joined the New England Patriots. Unfortunately, James missed the hall of fame for 2023.

Nick Mangold

This 39-year-old attended Archbishop Alter High School. His football coach during high school said he was a player you didn’t have to teach, he just knew what to do. When he started college at Ohio State University, Nick played for the Ohio State Buckeyes football team in the center position. After college, he played for the New York Jets from 2006 to 2016.

Ben Roethlisberger

This two-time Super Bowl champion started his career when he played football at Findlay High School. While professionally, he has always played as a quarterback, he only played in the position when he became a senior in high school. After high school, he attended Miami University in Ohio, where he made quite a name for himself. So much so that he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2004, where he played until his retirement in 2021. Recently he shared some exciting news about his retirement.

London Fletcher

Another Super Bowl champion, London started his journey at Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School. Not only did he win varsity letters for football, but he got them for basketball too. But London ultimately chose football and attended John Caroll University. In 1998 he got his first taste of professional football when he joined the St. Louis Rams. He was with the team until 2001 and joined the Buffalo Bills from 2002 to 2006. After that, he joined the Washington RedSkins from 2007 until 2013.

Antoine Winfield

Starting his football journey at Garfield High School, Antoine went on to play college football at Ohio State University. He first joined the NFL in 1999, playing for the Buffalo Bills until 2003. Later, he went to play for the Minnesota Vikings from 2004 until 2012 and then joined the Seattle Seahawks in 2013 as an off-season member.

Mario Manningham

This Super Bowl champion started his journey at Warren G Harding High School. He attended the University of Michigan when he played for the Wolverines. He was later drafted into the NFL and played for the New York Giants from 2008 until 2011. Thereafter he played for the San Francisco 49ers from 2012 to 2013 and joined the New York Giants again in 2014.

Nate Clements

Nate attended Shaker Heights High School and later attended Ohio State University. During the 2001 NFL draft pick, he signed a five-year deal with the Buffalo Bills from 2001 until 2006. Later, he transferred to the San Francisco 49ers from 2007 until 2010, and from 2011 until 2012, he played for the Bengals. Throughout his NFL career, he made over 800 tackles.

A.J. Hawk

A.J. attended Centerville Elks High School and later attended Ohio State University. He was first drafted in 2006 by the Green Bay Packers, with whom he signed a six-year deal. He ultimately played for the Packers until 2014. In 2015, he joined the Bengals for one year, and in 2016, he joined the Atlanta Falcons also only for one year. During the 2010 season, he won the Super Bowl with the Packers.

Brent Celek

Brent played football at La Salle High School. He then attended the University of Cincinnati. After university, this Super Bowl champion joined the Philadelphia Eagles, where he played from 2007 until 2017. In 2020, he became a personnel consultant for the team.