After a win in the Great Satellite War of 2016 earlier Thursday, the Big Ten continued its winning streak into the night as Jim Delany‘s conference claimed the most selections in the NFL Draft’s first round.
Ohio State led the way with five selections, one short of 2004 Miami’s all-time record. Joey Bosa was first off the board to the Chargers at No.3, followed immediately by Ezekiel Elliott to the Cowboys at No. 4. The pair became the first teammates selected in the top five since Sam Bradford, Gerald McCoy and Trent Williams were selected in the top four in 2010. Cornerback Eli Apple joined Elliott in the NFC East in going to the Giants at No. 10, and Taylor Decker trailed six picks later to the Lions. Linebacker Darron Lee rounded out the night for the Buckeyes when he went to the Jets at No. 20.
Ole Miss trailed Ohio State with three first-round selections, but the night was anything but a win for Hugh Freeze and the Rebels, not after Laremy Tunsil was shown on Twitter smoking from a bong, then admitting in a press conference to taking money from coaches. Tunsil, once projected as the No. 1 overall pick, fell to the Dolphins at No. 13. Laquon Treadwell was chosen by the Vikings at No. 23, and Robert Nkemdiche headed west to the Cardinals at No. 29.
Most selections by team
5 - Ohio State
3 - Ole Miss
2 - Florida, Notre Dame
Other storylines of note:
- SEC shut out at the top: Thanks in large part to Tunsil’s slide, the SEC did not dent the big board until Georgia’s Leonard Floyd went to the host Bears at No. 9. It was the conference’s longest wait to join the Draft since 2006, when Vanderbilt’s Jay Cutler was the SEC’s ice breaker at No. 11 overall. Still, the SEC was the most frequent player on Thursday night.
Most selections by conference
1. SEC - 8
2. Big Ten - 6
3. ACC - 4
3. Pac-12 - 4
5. Big 12 - 3
6. American - 2
7. Conference USA - 1
- Chip Kelly‘s Pac-12 love affair continues: After loading up on Pac-12 players in Philadelphia, the new 49ers head coach double-dipped into his old stomping grounds by nabbing former Duck DeForest Buckner at No. 7, then trading back into the first round to nab Stanford guard Joshua Garnett in the Chiefs’ spot at No. 28.
Chip Kelly has now drafted 11 players from the @Pac12 since jumping to the NFL. Seven form the Pac-12 North. #NFLDraft
— Kevin McGuire (@KevinOnCFB) April 29, 2016
- Quarterbacks at the top, again: Jared Goff became California’s first No. 1 selection since 1975, but the Big Game rivalry’s second in four years. Overall, quarterbacks have gone No. 1 overall 14 times since Peyton Manning entered the league in 1998.
The full list:
- Los Angeles Rams -- Jared Goff, California
- Philadelphia Eagles -- Carson Wentz, North Dakota State
- San Diego Chargers -- Joey Bosa, Ohio State
- Dallas Cowboys -- Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio State
- Jacksonville Jaguars -- Jalen Ramsey, Florida State
- Baltimore Ravens -- Ronnie Stanley, Notre Dame
- San Francisco 49ers -- DeForest Buckner, Oregon
- Tennessee Titans -- Jack Conklin, Michigan State
- Chicago Bears -- Leonard Floyd, Georgia
- New York Giants -- Eli Apple, Ohio State
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- Vernon Hargreaves III, Florida
- New Orleans Saints -- Sheldon Rankins, Louisville
- Miami Dolphins -- Laremy Tunsil, Ole Miss
- Oakland Raiders -- Karl Joseph, West Virginia
- Cleveland Browns -- Corey Coleman, Baylor
- Detriot Lions -- Taylor Decker, Ohio State
- Atlanta Falcons -- Keanu Neal, Florida
- Indianapolis Colts -- Ryan Kelly, Alabama
- Buffalo Bills -- Shaq Lawson, Clemson
- New York Jets -- Darron Lee, Ohio State
- Houston Texans -- Will Fuller, Notre Dame
- Washington Redskins -- Josh Doctson, TCU
- Minnesota Vikings -- Laquon Treadwell, Ole Miss
- Cincinnati Bengals -- William Jackson III, Houston
- Pittsburgh Steelers -- Artie Burns, Miami
- Denver Broncos -- Paxton Lynch, Memphis
- Green Bay Packers -- Kenny Clark, UCLA
- San Francisco 49ers -- Joshua Garnett, Stanford
- Arizona Cardinals -- Robert Nkemdiche, Ole Miss
- Carolina Panthers -- Vernon Butler, Louisiana Tech
- Seattle Seahawks -- Germain Ifedi, Texas A&M