It was widely thought that Goff would be their man, to the point that Philadelphia traded up to the No. 2 spot knowing that North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz – whom they preferred – would be there for the taking.The Rams traded multiple draft picks to get to the top of the first round.
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“Somehow, somebody got in my photos and hacked my Twitter account and somebody hacked my Instagram account, so it’s insane”, Tunsil said.
The Titans, having dropped to 15 in the trade with the Rams, moved back up to eighth and selected linesman Jack Conklin.
The San Diego Chargers presented the first surprise of the night by selecting Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa with the third overall pick.
And rounding out the top ten, a bit of a stunner: the New York Giants took cornerback Eli Apple, a draft-eligible red shirt sophomore from Ohio State, not expected by most to go that fast.
The sixth round featured the first European player ever chosen in the NFL Draft, German wide receiver Mortiz Boehringer. But his dress shirt under his blue suit was in place by the time he was drafted by the Cowboys. Jacksonville Jaguars, on the other hand, selected Jalen Ramsey and Baltimore Ravens took Ronnie Stanley. If I had concerns about whether Jared could handle this, I wouldn’t be talking about Jared right now.
“I’m going to go in and earn the respect of my teammates”, Wentz said.
The Rams made a splash to kick off their homecoming season by trading six draft picks to Tennessee for a package including the No. 1 choice.
Goff set 26 school records in his three seasons with Cal, including passing yards (12,220), passing yards per game (329.7), touchdown passes (96), completions (977), passes (1,569) and total offense (12,086 yards).
Tupac’s “California Love” took over the speakers at the downtown Chicago theater when Goff went No. 1. “It’s something I’ve learned from but I’ve seen it all pay off”, said Goff’s college roommate for two years Ray Hudson.
“It’s exciting. It’s an exciting time for the whole organization”, Goff said.
Wentz led the Bison to their fifth consecutive FCS championship in January.
The 6-foot-6 Higbee was an outstanding collegiate pass-catcher, making 38 receptions for 563 yards and eight touchdowns in his senior season in an offense run by Tyson Helton, now the quarterbacks coach at Southern California.
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“It’s not a question of this guy changed overnight”, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said, adding he signed off on the pick after meeting Tunsil, one of three Ole Miss prospects picked in the first round, in person. “I’m going to prove them right, let them know they made the right decision”.
