CHICAGO — Jared Goff is moving down the West Coast to Los Angeles. Carson Wentz and his big right arm are moving from North Dakota to Philadelphia.
The quarterbacks jumped over Laremy Tunsil after a pair of blockbuster trades, and the Ole Miss offensive tackle dropped down the board after a number of perceived character flaws began popping up on his social media accounts.
Goff went No. 1 overall to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night for their first pick since they moved west in the offseason, and Wentz was the No. 2 selection by the Philadelphia Eagles after a successful career at North Dakota State in the second tier of college football.
“I’m taking it as an honor and something I’m going to have to prove them right, that they made the right decision,” Goff said.
There was little doubt about the position of the top picks after Los Angeles and Philadelphia each made a big trade to get into the draft’s top two slots. It’s the second consecutive year two quarterbacks were the first names off the board and the seventh time in the modern era of the draft since 1967.
Once one of the leading candidates for the No. 1 pick before the trades, Tunsil slipped to Miami at No. 13 after the video of the lineman apparently smoking marijuana out of some type of contraption was passed around online.
“Somebody hacked my account, man,” Tunsil said. “You know, I made that mistake several years ago. Somehow, somebody got in my photos and hacked my Twitter account and somebody hacked my Instagram account, so it’s crazy. I can’t control that, man. I can control what I control.”
Tunsil also admitted to taking money from coaches at Ole Miss, which was alleged in a post on his Instagram account.
The Cleveland Browns, who traded the No. 2 pick to the Eagles last week, moved down again in the first major deal of the night, swapping selections with the Tennessee Titans. Then the Chicago Bears acquired the No. 9 pick in a trade with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Titans selected Michigan State offensive tackle Jack Conklin at No. 8 before the Bears grabbed Leonard Floyd, creating a bit of a lull in the proceedings with the Georgia linebacker not in attendance at the downtown Chicago theater.
On the board again at No. 15, Cleveland stayed in place and drafted Baylor wide receiver Corey Coleman.
After the quarterbacks received their hats and exchanged pleasantries with commissioner Roger Goodell, it was an Ohio State parade to the podium. The San Diego Chargers grabbed defensive end Joey Bosa at No. 3 with the first real wild card of the night, and the Dallas Cowboys selected running back Ezekiel Elliott with the fourth pick.
Cornerback Eli Apple went to the New York Giants at No. 10, putting three Buckeyes players in the top 10 for the first time in school history. Offensive tackle Taylor Decker was drafted by the Detroit Lions with the 16th pick, and speedy linebacker Darron Lee ran the Ohio State total to five when he went to the New York Jets at No. 20.
“That’s why we came to Ohio State — to play at the next level,” Bosa said.
Elliott, who rushed for 1,878 yards last season, made quite a fashion statement when he showed off his midsection while walking the red carpet before the draft. His dress shirt under his blue suit was in place by the time he was drafted by the Cowboys.
“I was known as the ’hero in the half-shirt,’ so I had to go with it,” said Elliott, who played with a bare midriff with the Buckeyes.
The Jacksonville Jaguars stayed close to home with Florida State cornerback Jalen Ramsey at No. 5, and the Baltimore Ravens strengthened their offensive line when they took Notre Dame tackle Ronnie Stanley.
The San Francisco 49ers, who took Oregon defensive lineman Arik Armstead in the first round a year ago, went back to the Ducks for defensive end DeForest Buckner.
As the draft barreled past the middle of the first round, UCLA linebacker Myles Jack kept tumbling down the board. There is concern within the league about the health of Jack’s right knee.
The Buccaneers opted for cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III with the 11th pick. Hargreaves grew up in the Tampa area and played at Florida.
The 6-foot-4 Goff started every game during his three seasons at Cal and set school records with 977 completions, 12,220 passing yards and 96 touchdown passes. The Rams traded with Tennessee to get the pick.
Tupac’s “California Love” took over the speakers at the downtown Chicago theater when Goff went No. 1.
“It’s a good spot for me and for my family to come watch games,” Goff said. “Very excited to get down there and get to work.”
Wentz led the Bison to their fifth consecutive Championship Subdivision title in January. He passed for 1,651 yards and 17 touchdowns during a senior year that was shortened by a broken right wrist.
It was the first opening-round quarterback for the Eagles since they grabbed Donovan McNabb with the No. 2 pick in the 1999 draft.
“It’s exciting a team believes in me that much to go up and get me,” Wentz said.
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