With the first few rounds in the draft a few days behind us, I figured it would be a good time to take stock of the biggest happenings so far in this year’s draft. A lot of players went where they were projected, but there were some big names that went to teams that snatched them out of blue and those picks in particular caught my eye. I’ll give the surprise picks either thumbs up or thumbs down, depending on my opinion/expert opinions.
Pick 13- Laremy Tunsil
Tunsil was projected to be a top 5 pick all the way through the draft process, but his stock plummeted after a picture of him smoking a bong was uploaded to his twitter account. The picture was immediately deleted but the damage was done. Many teams, already wary of Tunsil after he was suspended twice, were scared out of taking him. Miami snatched the talented tackle at #13 and are taking on a media hurricane with Tunsil, but the kid can play. The Dolphins snagged a franchise left tackle almost halfway through the first round. Thumbs Up
Pick 52- Christian Hackenberg
The Penn State product was listed as the #1 quarterback on the draft board at the beginning of the college season, but his stock fell after an uneven and inconsistent season. However, the Jets felt he was talented enough to justify adding him to their muddy quarterback situation. The Jets right now don’t have a starting QB, and I don’t think that right now Hackenberg will be the answer. The Jets took him to high (he was projected to go in the third round) and the team could’ve filled other roster holes with this pick. Thumbs Down
Picks 34 and 36- Jaylon Smith and Myles Jack
These two linebackers, from Notre Dame and UCLA respectively, were two of the most talented players in the entire draft. However, major knee injuries deterred teams from drafting the two players in the first round. I think that Jacksonville at pick 34 and Dallas at pick 36 got two players who, if healthy, can be absolute studs. That is a big if, especially for Smith. While Jack can play this year after tearing ligaments in his knee, Smith apparently suffered nerve damage along with the torn ligaments and won’t be on the field this year. All things considered, I think that both teams got top 5 talents in the second round of the draft. Thumbs Up
While these are only four cases of surprising picks from the draft, there are many more stories that will catch people’s eyes in the next few days as the draft winds down. Only time will tell whether these surprise picks will go down in history as feats of genius by the teams or whether the picks will go down as franchise killers.
