Five Ohio State Buckeyes drafted, four round one trades and three quarterbacks taken led the Thursday night discussion during Day 1 of the 2016 NFL Draft. Laremy Tunsil and Paxton Lynch falling became the triggers for the “Where will they go?” narrative, with their eventual team destinations ending up as two of the bigger “winners” on draft day.
Three winners and three losers from the first-round of the 2016 NFL Draft below, including a happy and disappointed quarterback, two teams on differing sides of the Laremy Tunsil fall, and which college teammates may be feeling frustrated after the first-round.
Winners
Jacksonville Jaguars
In the buildup to the draft, Jalen Ramsey seemed like a fit for every team. Before the two trades atop the draft board, Ramsey seemed like a potential fit for each of the top five overall picks, with little doubt that he’d get to Jacksonville.
But two trades atop the draft, a shocking Chargers pick and the Cowboys coaching staff winning their war room discussion for Ezekiel Elliott allowed Jalen Ramsey to fall into Jacksonville’s lap. The 6-foot-1, physical cornerback fits perfectly in Gus Bradley’s system, giving them the press cornerback talent they’ve lacked for some time.
Miami Dolphins
Following the now-infamous video released on Laremy Tunsil’s Twitter account just minutes before the 2016 NFL Draft, this year’s best tackle gave teams throughout the top-15 a dilemma. As he slipped, teams were forced to wonder if they should abandon their initial draft plans and take the free-falling elite tackle prospect. The video shouldn’t have dropped Tunsil late in the process, but it did.
1. Tunsil video isn't live, really old
2. Passed drug tests
3. I'd wager at least half of the top-10 picks smoked pot in the last 5 years.— Eric Galko (@EricGalko) April 29, 2016
But no teams in the top-10 did. The Titans even moved up for Jack Conklin, opting for the safe, potentially guard-only lineman instead of Tunsil. The Bears, Giants and Bucs, all lacking a quality left tackle, passed on Tunsil in favor of sticking to their initial plans. But the Dolphins called an audible on their draft plans. From what I’ve been told, with Myles Jack and Shaq Lawson atop their board, they opted to take Tunsil. Tunsil can now play left guard for now until he supplants Brandon Albert, giving this team a franchise tackle for the next 10 years.
Paxton Lynch
Jared Goff is now the face of the Los Angeles Rams, with pressure and limited receiver talent forcing him to quickly develop. Carson Wentz enters a near-toxic Eagles situation, where Sam Bradford wants out and, if traded, will see fans clamoring for him to start once Chase Daniel is in the game.
But Paxton Lynch couldn’t have made out any better. He slipped on draft day, further than I could have imagined, but he still lands with the team that always seemed like the favorite to draft him. The Broncos had Lynch rated above Carson Wentz and Jared Goff, and got their man by moving up just five draft spots. Lynch’s need for development is overblown. I believe he’ll supplant Mark Sanchez as the starter before the Broncos go to the playoffs.
Losers
New York Giants
Converse to the Miami Dolphins decision to draft Tunsil, the Giants’ decision to pass on the franchise left tackle in favor of Eli Apple seems like an unnecessarily bold decision. New York opted to not address their major need at left tackle and focused instead on defense.
Eli Apple likely would have been a top-15 pick, so the value itself isn’t all that terrible. But the Giants opted for the more raw Apple instead of the NFL-ready Vernon Hargreaves, who would have helped this win-now regime much more. Passing on Tunsil and Hargreaves may be the foreseeable downfall of Jerry Reese.
Sam Bradford
Sam Bradford has been clamoring for a trade for a week now, but the Eagles don’t seem all that willing to trade the disgruntled quarterback. With Chase Daniel, a favorite of new head coach Doug Pederson, and now Carson Wentz, the clear quarterback of the future, on the roster, Bradford sees the writing on the wall and wants out.
But after Denver drafted Paxton Lynch, Bradford’s most likely destination is now all set at quarterback. Outside of the Jets or Bills (both very doubtful), Bradford has no foreseeable alternatives to playing in Philly next season, and counting the starters before the 28-year-old passer is removed from the starting lineup.
Alabama Crimson Tide
With three players from Alabama in the green room in Chicago for the draft, at least one and potentially all of them were expected to be drafted on Day 1. But instead, the only thing they were left to do was applaud their former teammate, center Ryan Kelly, on being selected 18th overall.
The Tide getting only one first-round pick should come as surprising, as DT A’Shawn Robinson earned a first-round grade from us at Optimum Scouting, NT Jarran Reed offers rare range for a 310-pound interior lineman, and Reggie Ragland had ample interest from the Raiders, Bills, Jets, and especially the Packers among first-round teams. I’d expect all three go early in the second-round.
