Laremy Tunsil's bizarre night was the story of the NFL draft Thursday night, but it wasn't the only takeaway from Round 1.
(The headline above should have told you that!)
We're going to run through the rest of them below, now that I've already posted some thoughts on Tunsil and his unfortunate social-media mayhem. (In short: I don't think it was the primary reason he fell to the Miami Dolphins at No. 13 overall.)
On with it ...
1. Resolution at hand for three veteran quarterbacks
Colin Kaepernick is seeking a trade from the San Francisco 49ers, but he lost his most obvious landing spot Thursday night. So did Sam Bradford, who wants to get away from the Philadelphia Eagles, and Ryan Fitzpatrick, a free agent who is trying to get the New York Jets to raise their offer.
Alas, the trio's primary leverage moved aggressively to draft a quarterback. The Denver Broncos traded up five spots to No. 26, grabbing Memphis' Paxton Lynch. The move left the Broncos with both a quarterback of the future and a bridge veteran in Mark Sanchez, eliminating the need for acquiring Kaepernick or Bradford.
If the Broncos wanted Fitzpatrick, they would have signed him already. It appears he'll need to take the Jets' offer if he wants to play in 2016. Kaepernick's best bet is to compete for the 49ers' job, or wait to be released, while Bradford might have to endure a season with rookie Carson Wentz looking over his shoulder.
2. Concern about Myles Jack's knee wasn't a smokescreen
The UCLA linebacker tore the meniscus in his right knee last September and missed the rest of the season. He has worked out extensively for teams this spring and, based on talent alone, was one of the top prospects in this draft.
But Jack admitted that the knee could one day require microfracture surgery, a delicate procedure with varied success rates, and reports emerged that some teams were concerned about his long-term viability.
Jack is by far the highest-rated prospect available from Mel Kiper's final ESPN Big Board, where he was ranked No. 10 overall. It would be a stunner, not to mention a gloomy glimpse into his full medical records, if he is not drafted early Friday night.
3. QB aggressiveness makes more sense
Three quarterbacks were drafted in the first round, all after their new teams traded up to get them. The Los Angeles Rams moved from No. 15 to No. 1 to draft Cal's Jared Goff. The Eagles went from No. 13 to No. 8 and then No. 2 for Wentz. And the Broncos moved from No. 31 to No. 26 to grab Lynch.
Why? Viewed in hindsight, it seems clear that the consensus league view saw a significant drop-off after Wentz and another after Lynch. If you wanted a potential blue-chip quarterback who could play this season, you had to get Goff or Wentz. If you wanted a high-end developmental quarterback, Lynch was judged to be far above the next tier.
Meanwhile, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones also wanted Lynch and admitted he tried finding a way to get back into the first round. It's clear that no one saw the same value in Michigan State's Connor Cook or Penn State's Christian Hackenberg. But a run of third-tier quarterbacks could begin as soon as the first pick of the second round, held by the Cleveland Browns.
In the end, my dream of a five-quarterback first round never materialized. And the Big Ten's streak of consecutive drafts without a quarterback taken in the first round extended to 21.
4. The 49ers had a night of extremes
The 49ers were thrilled to see Oregon defensive end DeForest Buckner fall to them at No. 7. Buckner gives them arguably the most disruptive defender in the draft, and he should make an immediate impact.
On the other hand, it's difficult to understand what compelled the 49ers to move back into the first round to draft Stanford guard Joshua Garnett. It's possible that the 49ers thought the Seattle Seahawks would draft Garnett; they were known to be interested in offensive linemen and eventually took tackle Germain Ifedi of Texas A&M.
But giving up a fourth- and sixth-round pick for a guard seemed excessive. Kiper ranked him No. 68 overall on his final Big Board, and there is a decent chance that Kansas State's Cody Whitehair would have made it to the 49ers' pick at No. 37 overall.
Maybe it's a Pac-12 thing. Since 49ers coach Chip Kelly left Oregon for the NFL in 2013, his teams have drafted 23 Pac-12 players -- the most from any conference by a current head coach over that period.
5. Plenty o' trades
As anyone could have predicted, even this guy, Round 1 produced more trades than the 2015 affair. A total of five were made Thursday, in addition to the Rams' and Eagles' deals that were completed earlier this month. That's more than twice the total for 2015 (two) and it matched what we saw in 2014 and 2013 (five apiece).
I've already told you what I thought about the 49ers' trade to get Garnett. So here's some positivity for you: I'm loving what the Browns did and are doing.
They moved back twice, from No. 2 to No. 8 and then to No. 15. They were still in position to take their pick of wide receivers, a major position of need, and selected Baylor playmaker Corey Coleman. And they still have 11 draft picks remaining, tied for an NFL high, including four Friday night. Unless you believe you have a method for out-scouting the rest of the NFL, it makes sense to accumulate as many picks as possible and play the odds -- especially when you have as many roster holes as the Browns.
6. About that receiver run ...
As they did with quarterbacks, teams maneuvered heavily to draft the first three receivers. The Browns took Coleman at No. 15, the Houston Texans swapped places with the Washington Redskins and took Notre Dame's Will Fuller at No. 21, and the Redskins followed by taking TCU's Josh Doctson at No. 22.
That left the Minnesota Vikings to take Ole Miss' Laquon Treadwell at No. 23.
Why so much moving about? As we discussed Thursday morning, there wasn't a lot of speed at the receiver position this year. Coleman and Fuller were the fastest, each running in the 4.3-second range in the 40-yard dash, while Treadwell scared some teams with his 4.63.
Treadwell is probably best suited for the Vikings, anyway. Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater isn't a great deep thrower, and Treadwell is such a good run-blocker that he truly will be of assistance to tailback Adrian Peterson.
7. Panthers mean business
Carolina Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman has made no secret of his affinity for what he calls "hog mollies," and as we discussed earlier this month, it helped drive the decision to rescind the franchise tag of cornerback Josh Norman.
Gettleman had another opportunity to follow through on that approach Thursday night, and he took it. Despite a stacked interior defensive line that includes Kawann Short, Star Lotulelei and Paul Soliai, the Panthers used the No. 30 overall pick to take Louisiana Tech nose tackle/beast Vernon Butler. You can never have enough big guys. Never.
8. On the other hand ...
Despite the presence of Butler, Buckner and four other defensive linemen, this round had a distinct passing feel.
Teams drafted seven defensive backs, the second most ever in the first round. In all, there were 14 defensive backs, cornerbacks and receivers drafted among the top 31. That's only three behind the record of 17 set in 2014, and it's the fifth most all time.
9. Worth the wait
I can't think of a better place for Ole Miss defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche than the Arizona Cardinals. Nkemdiche had well-documented issues at the end of his college career, but the Cardinals can surround him with a veteran roster and a free-thinking coach in Bruce Arians.
And Nkemdiche continues the Cardinals' aggressive makeover of their pass rush, which produced the fewest sacks last season (36) of any 2015 playoff team. Nkemdiche will join defensive end Chandler Jones, acquired from the New England Patriots, and defensive end Calais Campbell for what is suddenly a formidable defensive front.
10. Purple is the new black
I don't claim to have sartorial expertise of any kind, so for all I know, purple is the "in" color this season. It's either that or more than a few draft prospects in Chicago paid a nice tribute to Prince.
I counted 10 of 25 prospects with either purple suits, purple ties or both during the pre-round introductions. As the kids would say, it looked tight -- regardless of the reason. Make sure you keep it locked in right here for more news you can use all weekend.
Research from ESPN Stats & Information unless otherwise noted