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:

1. Los Angeles Rams (From Tennessee) – QB Jared Goff, Cal.
2. Philadelphia Eagles (From Cleveland) – QB Carson Wentz, North Dakota State
3. San Diego Chargers – DE Joey Bosa, Ohio State
4. Dallas Cowboys – RB Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio State
5. Jacksonville Jaguars – CB Jalen Ramsey, Florida State
6. Baltimore Raves – OT Ronnie Stanley, Notre Dame
7. San Francisco 49ers – DE DeForest Buckner, Oregon
8. Tennessee Titans (From Cleveland) – OT Jack Conklin, Michigan State
9. Chicago Bears (From Tampa Bay) – LB Leonard Floyd, Georgia
10. New York Giants – CB Eli Apple, Ohio State
11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (From Chicago) – CB Vernon Hargreaves, Florida
12. New Orleans Saints – DT Sheldon Rankins, Louisville
13. Miami Dolphins (From Philadelphia) – OT Laremy Tunsil, Mississippi
14. Oakland Raiders – S Karl Johnson, West Virginia
15. Cleveland Browns (From Tennessee) – WR Corey Coleman, Baylor
16. Detroit Lions – OT Taylor Decker, Ohio State
17. Atlanta Flacons – DB Keanu Neal, Florida
18. Indianapolis Colts – C Ryan Kelly, Alabama
19. Buffalo Bills – DB/LB Shaq Lawson, Clemson
20. New York Jets – LB Darron Lee, Ohio State
21. Houston Texans (From Washington) – WR Will Fuller, Notre Dame
22. Washington Redskins (From Houston) – WR Josh Doctson, TCU
23. Minnesota Vikings – WR Laquon Treadwell, Mississippi
24. Cincinnati Bengals – CB William Jackson III, Houston
25. Pittsburgh Steelers – CB Artie Burns, Miami
26. Denver Broncos (From Seattle) – QB Paxton Lynch, Memphis
27. Green Bay Packers – DT Kenny Clark, UCLA
28. San Francisco 49ers (From Kansas City) – G Joshua Garnett, Stanford
29. Arizona Cardinals – DT Robert Nkemdiche, Mississippi
30. Carolina Panthers – DT Vernon Butler, Louisiana Tech
31. 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/