Russ Lande gives his five rookies who could have the biggest impact on defense. USA TODAY Sports
CHICAGO – As recently as earlier this month, whenever Laremy Tunsil pictured his NFL draft moment here in Chicago, he envisioned himself walking across the stage as the No. 1 overall pick selected by the Tennessee Titans.
But then came two blockbuster trades, first with the Titans moving out of that top spot in a trade with the Los Angeles Rams, followed by the Philadelphia Eagles swapping with the Cleveland Browns to move into the No. 2 spot. Both of those teams are expected to take quarterbacks, Cal's Jared Goff and Carson Wentz from North Dakota State, meaning the earliest Tunsil could get drafted is at No. 3 to the San Diego Chargers.
"When Tennessee traded the pick, I'm human, it hurt," Tunsil told USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday." But hey, that's a part of the game. I'm still going to go out there and play for any team I can."
Though Goff and Wentz – as well as the Rams and Eagles – have played coy about what will happen on Thursday, those are the only two players who will likely wake up Thursday with some sort of clarity about where they will be drafted.
For the others, they've learned the same lesson as Tunsil: Until that phone rings on Thursday night, don't trust anything.
"Honestly, I have no clue," defensive back Jalen Ramsey said. "Anything can happen."
Ramsey believes he's still in play for the No. 3 pick by the San Diego Chargers, but knows the big trades up for the quarterbacks have changed the landscape of the first round. Teams that might have initially thought they wouldn't have a chance at Tunsil or the draft's other top tackle, Ronnie Stanley, or any of the elite defensive players (such as Ramsey, Ohio State defensive lineman Joey Bosa and Oregon defensive end DeForest Buckner) now find themselves looking differently at their draft boards.
"I stand by my statement that I'm the best player in this draft class, so if a team trades up and they're trading up for me, they're going to get the best player. And if San Diego chooses there and they pick me, then they're getting the best player," Ramsey said.
But, as Ramsey said, who will even pick at No. 3 is not certain. After a wild few weeks, few prospects would be surprised if the Chargers are the next to move back and shake up the first round even further. Tunsil said he's had teams tell him in the weeks since the Titans-Rams trade that they would try to move up to select him. But he's being cautious about getting his hopes up again.
"It's all business now," Tunsil said.
As 25 draft prospects arrived in Chicago this week, they've been speculating among themselves as much as television analysts about what might happen once Goff and Wentz are officially off the draft board and the Chargers are on the clock.
"Some of the (defensive) guys have been joking with me, like, 'Hey, the quicker you can go, the quicker we can go,'" Ramsey said. "I'm just embracing the whole moment, the unknown."
Running back Ezekiel Elliott can empathize with Tunsil about the trades creating a sense of uncertainty. Elliott was widely linked to the Eagles earlier this spring, and said he had very positive meetings with Philadelphia before the Eagles moved up to No. 2 to select a quarterback.
Though Elliott was never a sure thing to land in Philadelphia as a replacement for DeMarco Murray, now he could be drafted as early as No. 4, to the Dallas Cowboys, or somewhere later in the first round. The Cleveland Browns, at No. 8, have a need at running back, as do the Miami Dolphins at No. 13.
"I've done everything in my power to get teams to draft Ezekiel Elliott, to call my phone," Elliott said. "So now all I can do is sit here and wait it out."
Follow Lindsay H. Jones on Twitter @bylindsayhjones[1].
References
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