Mel Kiper Jr. made it clear that he would opt against taking a running back in the first round. Given their short shelf life and dime-a-dozen nature, he’d rather wait.

Ezekiel Elliott might be a different story.

In Kiper’s Mock Draft 3.0, he had Elliott slotted at No. 20 overall to the New York Jets. One month later, Kiper moved up Elliott more than anybody else in the first round in his Mock Draft 4.0. He had the former Buckeye star at No. 6 overall going to the Baltimore Ravens.

It isn’t the highest projection we’ve seen of Elliott. Some believe the Dallas Cowboys will lock him up at No. 4, which was where Kiper had his teammate, Joey Bosa, slotted. Bosa was at Elliott’s No. 6 spot in Kiper’s last mock draft.

In all, he had six Buckeyes going in the first round, five of whom either stayed the same or moved up. Michigan State’s Jack Conklin also moved into the top 10 in Kiper’s projections.

Here are the B1G players he had going off the board in the first round:

OVERALL PICK, NFL TEAM POSITION, PLAYER SCHOOL
4. Dallas Cowboys DE Joey Bosa Ohio State
6. Baltimore Ravens RB Ezekiel Elliott Ohio State
10. New York Giants OT Jack Conklin Michigan State
13. Miami Dolphins LB Darron Lee Ohio State
18. Indianapolis Colts OT Taylor Decker Ohio State
26. Seattle Seahawks CB Eli Apple Ohio State
28. Kansas City Chiefs S Vonn Bell Ohio State