Quarterbacks Go One, Two in NFL Draft First Round Amid Trades and Bizarre Controversy
The first round of the 2016 NFL was somehow both predictable and full of surprises at the same time.
The Los Angeles Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles, holders of the first two picks after respective pre-draft trades with the Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns, each picked quarterbacks. The newly relocated Rams went with California star Jared Goff at #1, while the Eagles selected North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz.
After the top two picks, the biggest story of the night became who didn’t get picked.
Offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil out of Ole Miss was thought by many to be the best overall player in the draft, even having been prognosticated to go at number one before the Titans traded their pick to Los Angeles. However just minutes before the draft began, a video appeared on Tunsil’s verified Twitter account that seemed to show the player smoking marijuana out of a gas mask. The video was quickly deleted and Tunsil’s agent claimed that the account had been hacked. The damage was done however and the talented tackle fell all the way to the Miami Dolphins at number thirteen.
The rest of the first round was defined by trades, as five major trades occurred after the draft had begun, including the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Denver Broncos, who moved up in the draft to fill their quarterback vacancy left by Peyton Manning’s retirement.
The complete list of first round draft picks and trades were as follows:
- Los Angeles Rams (From Tennessee) – QB Jared Goff, Cal.
- Philadelphia Eagles (From Cleveland) – QB Carson Wentz, North Dakota State
- San Diego Chargers – DE Joey Bosa, Ohio State
- Dallas Cowboys – RB Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio State
- Jacksonville Jaguars – CB Jalen Ramsey, Florida State
- Baltimore Raves – OT Ronnie Stanley, Notre Dame
- San Francisco 49ers – DE DeForest Buckner, Oregon
- Tennessee Titans (From Cleveland) – OT Jack Conklin, Michigan State
- Chicago Bears (From Tampa Bay) – LB Leonard Floyd, Georgia
- New York Giants – CB Eli Apple, Ohio State
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (From Chicago) – CB Vernon Hargreaves, Florida
- New Orleans Saints – DT Sheldon Rankins, Louisville
- Miami Dolphins (From Philadelphia) – OT Laremy Tunsil, Mississippi
- Oakland Raiders – S Karl Johnson, West Virginia
- Cleveland Browns (From Tennessee) – WR Corey Coleman, Baylor
- Detroit Lions – OT Taylor Decker, Ohio State
- Atlanta Flacons – DB Keanu Neal, Florida
- Indianapolis Colts – C Ryan Kelly, Alabama
- Buffalo Bills – DB/LB Shaq Lawson, Clemson
- New York Jets – LB Darron Lee, Ohio State
- Houston Texans (From Washington) – WR Will Fuller, Notre Dame
- Washington Redskins (From Houston) – WR Josh Doctson, TCU
- Minnesota Vikings – WR Laquon Treadwell, Mississippi
- Cincinnati Bengals – CB William Jackson III, Houston
- Pittsburgh Steelers – CB Artie Burns, Miami
- Denver Broncos (From Seattle) – QB Paxton Lynch, Memphis
- Green Bay Packers – DT Kenny Clark, UCLA
- San Francisco 49ers (From Kansas City) – G Joshua Garnett, Stanford
- Arizona Cardinals – DT Robert Nkemdiche, Mississippi
- Carolina Panthers – DT Vernon Butler, Louisiana Tech
- Seattle Seahawks (From Denver) – OT Germain Ifedi, Texas A&M
While the New England Patriots didn’t have a first round pick due to their punishment in the aftermath of the Deflategate controversy, the team did make it’s presence known on draft night.
Just as the first round was beginning, the team changed their avatar on each of their social media profiles to a photograph of QB Tom Brady’s jersey and number 12, a not so subtle protest of his four game suspension and the team’s missing draft pick.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BEw2h_Hv8QO/
