CHICAGO — The Los Angeles Rams selected Cal quarterback Jared Goff with the first overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft on Thursday night at Auditorium Theater.
Goff, 21, will remain in his home state to play for the Rams, who moved up in the draft two weeks earlier by shipping a half-dozen draft picks to the Tennessee Titans. Goff became the first player from Cal to be selected first overall since quarterback Steve Bartkowski in 1975.
“It’s a very big honor,” said Goff, who threw for 43 touchdowns and 13 interceptions as a junior in 2015. “I’m going to prove them right, let them know they made the right decision.”
With the second pick, the Philadelphia Eagles chose quarterback Carson Wentz from North Dakota State. The Eagles moved up in the draft one week earlier for the chance to acquire Wentz, who became the first quarterback from a non-Football Bowl Subdivision school to be taken in the first round since Delaware’s Joe Flacco in 2008.
“It’s an exciting time. Real exciting, and happy to be an Eagle,” Wentz told NFL Network’s Deion Sanders after the selection. “I’m bringing it. They’re getting a passionate player themselves, so it’s going to be fun. The chips fell where they may tonight, and I’m pumped and ready to get to work.”
The San Diego Chargers presented the first surprise of the night by selecting Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa with the third overall pick. The Dallas Cowboys made it back-to-back Buckeyes by selecting running back Ezekiel Elliott fourth overall.
Florida State cornerback Jalen Ramsey was drafted fifth overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Baltimore Ravens bolstered their offensive line with the sixth overall pick by selecting Notre Dame offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley.
First-year San Francisco coach Chip Kelly reunited with one of his prized college recruits when the 49ers selected Oregon defensive end DeForest Buckner seventh overall.
The Titans traded up seven spots to select Michigan State offensive tackle Jack Conklin at eighth overall. Tennessee acquired the selection, along with a sixth-round choice, from the Cleveland Browns in exchange for the 15th overall pick and a third-round pick in 2016, as well as a second-round pick in 2017.
The hometown Chicago Bears moved up two spots in the draft to select Georgia outside linebacker Leonard Floyd at ninth overall. Floyd’s sack production slipped in each of the past two seasons, but he tantalized scouts with speed and strength at the Combine.
The New York Giants rounded out the top 10 by selecting Ohio State cornerback Eli Apple.
Ole Miss offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil tumbled to the Miami Dolphins with 13th overall pick of the draft after a video appeared on his Twitter account just minutes before the start of Thursday’s draft appearing to show him smoking marijuana through a bong while wearing a gas mask.
Tunsil’s account was reportedly hacked, with the video quickly deleted and Tunsil later suspending his entire account. But the damage was already done as teams selecting in the top 10 passed on the former Rebels star, and several teams taking him off their boards altogether.
In the video, someone else lights the bong, and after a few seconds Tunsil removes the mask while laughing. NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported that the video is believed to be several years old, and Tunsil did not fail a single drug test while at Ole Miss.
“It was a mistake. It happened years ago,” Tunsil told the NFL Network of the video. “Someone hacked my Twitter account. It’s a crazy world, things happen for a reason. I’m glad to be in Miami.”
Reports surfaced that the video may have been posted by Tunsil’s stepfather, who sued Tunsil this week claiming the former Ole Miss tackle attacked him and then defamed him when Tunsil claimed he was only protecting his mother.
“I did not know about it at all, I found out about it when I got to the Green Room,” Tunsil said of the video. “I don’t know who it was, I ain’t going to point any fingers or name any names.”
This year’s top-rated overall prospect by NFLDraftScout.com, Tunsil had been the favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick until the Tennessee Titans traded the selection to the Los Angeles Rams. The Philadelphia Eagles then moved up to the No. 2 spot, vaulting quarterbacks Jared Goff and Carson Wentz to the top. Tunsil entered Thursday considered to be a “steal” for whomever selected him, and few thought he would make it past the Baltimore Ravens with the sixth pick.
After news of the video surfaced, the Ravens opted to make Notre Dame’s Ronnie Stanley the first offensive tackle selected, with general manager Ozzie Newsome saying the team had Stanley rated higher all along. The Titans traded back up to No. 8 to nab a tackle of their own, but went with Michigan State’s Jack Conklin.