After the video of Laremy Tunsil smoking from a bong appeared on Twitter during Thursday night’s first round, the Ravens changed their original plan on taking Tunsil and instead took Ronnie Stanley, according to ESPN.
Initials reports suggesting the same surfaced on Twitter on Thursday immediately after the Ravens made their pick. It was revealed that the Ravens took Tunsil off their draft board but Ravens head coach Jim Harbaugh seemed to refute that.
Well-played coach.
Perfect answer from Harbaugh on when Tunsil was pulled from Ravens’ draft board. pic.twitter.com/KyKRr3ifuF
— Sarah Ellison (@sgellison) April 30, 2016
Either way, according to ESPN’s recent report, one Ravens official saw the video on Twitter as it was posted and then showed it to GM Ozzie Newsome and owner Steve Bisciotti. According to Adam Schefter, Tunsil lost $7 million by falling those seven extra spots in the draft to Miami.
“We liked the young man, so we were disappointed for him,” Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh told NFL Network with regards to Tunsil. “That’s not something you want to see. That’s tough, but that’s life. There are consequences for actions and choices and decisions no matter when it happens. Laremy is going to be fine. I just hope a lot of young people learn from that mistake.”
Ozzie Newsome also said that the gas mask video did influence the direction the Ravens went in with the #6 overall pick.
“That’s always a part anytime you get information,” Newsome said. “Our scouts get a lot of information. When things happen, a lot of times we’re not surprised. We took the best player; the player who rated the highest on the board at that point.”
The Ravens brought in Tunsil for a pre-draft visit, and Harbaugh said both guys were “in the same category”. Offensive line coach Juan Castillo also met with Tunsil in Mississippi during the pre-draft process. Meanwhile, Tunsil was forthright with the Dolphins during his interviews with them, which assuaged their fears about taking him.
“I think a lot of work is done for months and months, and one (thing) two hours before the draft is totally somebody out to get a guy,” Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said Saturday. “It’s not a question of this guy changed overnight. The work that we’ve done on him, the people we’ve talked to and even subsequently talking to, we’re going to continue that. Meeting the kid, you know that this is a good kid. It’s going to be a great choice.”
Time will tell as to whether the Ravens or Dolphins ended up with the better prospect, but it’s clear that what happened Thursday night did change the outcome of the first round.
[ESPN]
