NFL Draft 2016 1st round: Six key picks, including Laremy Tunsil, Ezekiel Elliott and Myles Jack
Friday 29 April 2016 13:49, UK
After a relatively dull first round last year, Thursday night’s affair in Chicago was a lot spicier, featured more trades and quite a bit of controversy and drama.
Laremy Tunsil had a rather embarrassing video of him leaked to the media 10 minutes before the start of the Draft, Myles Jack dropped like a stone due to concerns over his knee and Paxton Lynch soared all the way to the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos.
So here are six thoughts on six moves made in Chicago in round one.
Tunsil's nightmare evening
It was one of the more bizarre draft nights. Minutes before the NFL Draft kicked off, a video emerged on Tunsil's Twitter page appearing to show him smoking through a gas mask. As an unnamed team general manager said last night: "He looked like Hannibal Lecter and we're taking him off our board."
One team after another passed on Tunsil, who was expected to go first overall a few weeks back. Baltimore had a major offensive tackle need, but preferred Ronnie Stanley. Tennessee traded back up to fill their tackle need but took Jack Conklin and the Giants - desperate for offensive line help - preferred cornerback Eli Apple.
Tunsil's first NFL contract will total around $13million, but it would have been in the $23-25m range had he gone in the top five.
Jack's nightmare evening
There is a theme developing here and it's what makes the NFL Draft such great drama. It is a soap opera and we get to witness it all as dreams are realised and childhood hopes are dashed.
Myles Jack, of UCLA, is one of the best five players in this draft yet he will wake up in Chicago without an NFL home knowing 31 guys were chosen ahead of him. That is going to be a tough pill to swallow and it made for an embarrassing and frustrating few hours for this high-energy defender.
The unconfirmed worry is that Jack has a degenerative knee issue and might not make it past his first NFL contract. Those are sentiments he backed up himself the day before the draft, admitting he might not last long in the NFL.
Jack was trying to make a bad situation good and he made it worse. He can never erase what was a nightmare evening in Chicago.
Jaguars win big
The way the dominoes fell at the top of the NFL Draft worked out very well indeed for the London-bound Jacksonville Jaguars. Jalen Ramsey is a special talent who can play cornerback, slot corner and safety in the NFL and he can play all three very well.
The Jags are gearing up for a play-off run this season if they can keep their momentum going. I expect them to make several more defensive picks in the next two days as general manager Dave Caldwell wants to address and upgrade a unit that ranked 31st in scoring defence last year.
Ramsey is as clean a prospect as they come on and off the field and I cannot wait to see him in action in London later this year. I think he could be a quality and versatile defensive back in today's pass-happy NFL.
Late quarterback drama
The top of the NFL Draft was already set to the point where we're not really talking about Jared Goff and Carson Wentz all that much this morning. But there was a late talking point in round one as the Super Bowl champions Denver Broncos traded up to grab Paxton Lynch from Memphis.
Lynch can eventually be a good fit for the Broncos because he can roll out and throw out of the pocket, which is what head coach Gary Kubiak likes but could never do with Peyton Manning at the helm.
But Lynch is likely not ready for 2016 and even 2017 is a push. He has some developing to do and is a patient young man being well-guided by former super-agent Leigh Steinberg. That means the Broncos are likely to have Mark Sanchez babysit the role in 2016, unless they make a move for another veteran passer.
But there is no doubt that Denver see Lynch as their quarterback of the future.
Jerry gets his man!
Jerry Jones likes star power as the owner of the Dallas Cowboys and he certainly got that in abundance on Thursday evening as his team selected Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott.
The position is a little rich for a running back, but not if you think you're getting a special one. Elliott has all the tools to be a generational player and somebody around whom the Cowboys can build their attack for years to come.
Dallas didn't have to give up extra picks like some teams did to get players they coveted. They simply had to part with their fourth overall selection and Elliott, who can run, catch and block, is worth the effort.
He will take some pressure off quarterback Tony Romo, who soon turns 37 and is coming off a nightmare season in which he twice broke the same collarbone.
You like that!
On the night of the NFL Draft, Sky Sports aired a Fan Forum with Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins. Kirk is a great guy and is growing to be quite a quarterback - and he could be even better in 2016 after his team selected wide receiver Josh Doctson, who I felt was the best wideout available.
I didn't think Washington would target a receiver. I didn't think they needed another receiving target as their passing attack took off in the second half of 2015 with DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon and Jordan Reed playing big roles.
Washington had bigger needs, including needing additional secondary help even following the Josh Norman signing, and could have upgraded their offensive line a little more.
But Washington wanted to add more weapons around a developing quarterback and it certainly puts more pressure on Jackson and Garcon to maintain a high level of play this season. The Redskins are going to be fun to watch when they head to London later this year.
