Everyone was blindsided by the 1st round of the NFL Draft

CHICAGO -- The 81st NFL Draft here on Thursday night fashioned a startling array of first-round curves. It was a gripping display of rise and fall.

The Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles initially jolted it by making brash trades into the top two slots to swipe quarterbacks -- Jared Goff to the Rams and Carson Wentz to the Eagles. The New England Patriots colored it by losing their pick to DeflateGate penalty, resulting in 31 total first-rounders, not the usual 32.

Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa leaped into the No. 3 spot, to the San Diego Chargers, as the first non-quarterback selection, a notable distinction. That was followed by Ohio State’s Ezekiel Elliot steamrolling popular NFL belief that running backs should not be picked highly -- he earned the No. 4 spot, to the Dallas Cowboys.

The Tennessee Titans and the Chicago Bears rose past the New York Giants, the Titans trading up to the No. 8 spot and the Bears up to No. 9. That meant Michigan State offensive tackle Jack Conklin (Titans) and Georgia linebacker Leonard Floyd (Bears), players the Giants were eyeing at their No. 10 spot, were gone.

The Giants turned to Ohio State cornerback Eli Apple.

A spectacular rise for Apple -- few people considered Apple a top-10 pick.

The Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos’ rise, five spots up via trade to No. 26, netted them Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch, the third and final quarterback selected in the first round.

These were the ascensions in the first round that caused a few blinks and gulps.

The falls were equally spellbinding. Laremy Tunsil epitomized it.

Tunsil, an Ole Miss offensive tackle, a few weeks ago was considered worthy of the draft’s No. 1 pick. His fall to No. 13, to the Miami Dolphins, was epic.

A few days before the draft, his stepfather sued him for defamation in an ongoing feud between them. Minutes before the draft, Tunsil’s social media accounts showed him wearing a gas mask and smoking from a bong. During the draft, text messages were released on his Instagram account indicating he had received illegal payments from Ole Miss coaches.

Tunsil was blindsided. So were NFL teams.

He kept falling, tumbling through the draft before the Dolphins chose him. Tunsil looked shook when he met with reporters.

He wiped his brow with his suit sleeve. He said his social media accounts had been hacked. It was him in the mask and bong, he said, and explained that it happened “several years ago.” He said he did receive money from Ole Miss coaches: “Like I say, I made a mistake. That happened.”

It appeared that he was trying to make the best of it, come clean, be honest, while caught in a vortex. He handled this as if so much had happened with him that he wanted to make this draft moment a sincere one. He was clearly nervous, but calm. He was obviously hurt, but he was sturdy.

He was quickly ushered off the podium and hustled into a room where he met with his representatives for nearly 20 minutes. It was clear they were giving him direction, but the damage was done.

When he surfaced, he was brought into another interview room and his message changed. He kept saying, simply, he was grateful to be a Dolphin and how hard he would work, how he would play with a chip on his shoulder.

And then he was ushered quickly out of the interview area.

It was one of the most tumultuous falls and uneasy flashes the draft has produced.

But the quality of the player remains enormous when considering the fall was to No. 13 and not completely out of the first round.

That happened to UCLA linebacker Myles Jack.

Jack and five other players the NFL brought here hoping they would be selected in the first round were denied. They will be told by family, friends and the league that it does not matter where they are drafted, but simply that they are drafted and will have an NFL opportunity. They were consoled with the idea that on Friday night in the second and third rounds, their names will surely be called.

For the players who sat in that green room through all 31 picks and left with their families for a cruel night, there is no instant solace in that.

Jack was rated as a top-10 player before a knee injury knocked his status for a loop. Clemson defensive end Kevin Dodd, Mississippi State defensive tackle Chris Jones and a trio of Alabama players -- linebacker Reggie Ragland and defensive tackles Jarran Reed and A’Shawn Robinson -- joined Jack here in that number not called. Don’t be surprised if a few in the group simply head home on Friday morning.

For the moment, for each one, despite the future promise, it was a callous fall.

Bosa had a word for each one of them.

He said that “talk is talk.” That critics were tugging at his character and his game and predicting he would fall out of the top five players selected. Bosa said he was prepared for that. And that when the Chargers called his name, he nearly “blacked out.” He said he has never been to San Diego.

He will jump onto a 9:45 a.m. CT flight heading there on Friday.

“I think in the draft you just have to be prepared for anything,” Bosa said. “The good, the bad. Whether you rise or whether you fall. It means a lot to me to be the first non-quarterback taken, that’s no lie. I really take pride in that because I worked for it. But no matter where you are drafted, or even if you are not drafted, when you get a chance with an NFL team on an NFL practice field, that’s where you can have the final word. That’s where you really make your mark. This whole draft process really tugs at your mind and your heart. But what comes after it means the most. I’d say there are a few more surprises to come.”