DraftHistory.com

2016 NFL Draft Round One

By Chris Malumphy

With the first pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, the Los Angeles Rams select University of California quarterback Jared Goff. As anticipated, the Philadelphia Eagles picked Carson Wentz, quarterback from North Dakota State with the second choice, which has already put current starter Sam Bradford in play. Ohio State's Joey Bosa became the first defensive player to come off the board to the San Diego Chargers. The Dallas Cowboys used the 4th selection on Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott who becomes the earliest drafted running back since Cleveland selected Trent Richardson from Alabama in 2012. Florida State defensive back Jalen Ramsey, who can play both safety and cornerback, will fortify the defense of the the Jacksonville Jaguars. Tackle Ronnie Stanley of Notre Dame rose up the draft boards to surpass Laremy Tunsil and was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens. The San Francisco 49ers bolstered their defensive line by drafting Florida State defensive end DeForest Buckner. The Cleveland Browns traded down yet again, allowing the Tennessee Titans to move into the 8th spot. The Titans selected tackle Jack Conklin from Michigan State.

The Chicago Bears obtained the 9th pick in a trade from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and drafted linebacker Leonard Floyd from Georgia. The Bucs received the 11th pick in the 1st round as well as a 4th rounder. Ohio State cornerback Eli Apple was drafted by the New York Giants. The Ohio State Buckeyes became the first team since the 2010 Oklahoma Sooners to have three players selected from their squads in the top ten picks of a draft. The 1967 Michigan State Spartans and the 1946 Notre Dame Fighting Irish each had four players selected in the top ten. The Buccaneers used the pick they obtained from the Bears to select cornerback Vernon Hargreaves from Florida. The New Orleans Saints picked defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins of Louisville. Mississippi tackle Laremy Tunsil's tumble ended when he was selected by the Miami Dolphins with the 13th pick. It is reported that Tunsil may lose as much as $7 million by dropping so far. The Oakland Raiders to have reach to draft West Virginia safety Karl Joseph.

The Cleveland Browns finally made a pick after amassing a boatload of picks in 2016, 2017 and 2018 by trading down twice and selected speed over size by tabbing Baylor wide receiver Corey Coleman as the first wide receiver taken in the 2016 Draft. Coleman will join Baylor alumnus Robert Griffin III and perhaps Josh Gordon, if he is ever allowed to return to the game, on the Browns roster. The Detroit Lions selected tackle Taylor Decker, another Ohio State Buckeye. Teams expended 6,300 points of draft value on Ohio State players in the first 16 picks in the draft.

The Atlanta Falcons drafted strong safety Keanu Neal from Florida with the 17 choice in the draft. The Indianapolis Colts provided quarterback Andrew Luck with some additional support on the line when it picked Alabama center Kelly Ryan. The Buffalo Bills jumped at the opportunity to select Clemson defensive end Shaq Lawson. The New York Jets used the 20th pick in the draft on Ohio State linebacker Darron Lee, the 5th Buckeye taken. Teams have now expended 7,150 draft value points on Ohio State players. In 2010, the NFL expended 7,918.10 draft value points on seven Oklahoma Sooners but only four of the Sooners were taken in the first round for 7,800 of those points.

Notre Dame wide receiver Will Fuller was drafted by the Houston Texans who had swapped picks with the Washington Redskins. The Redskins followed by taking wide receiver Josh Doctson of TCU. The third consecutive wide receiver was drafted when the Minnesota Vikings picked Laquon Treadwell. The Cincinnati Bengals broke the streak of wide receivers by selecting cornerback William Jackson III from Houston. Cornerback Artie Burns of Miami (FL) was taken by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Denver Broncos moved up by trading with the Seattle Seahawks to draft Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch who will join the world champion Super Bowl winners as the projected starting quarterback. I'd dare say, without even checking, that he would be the first rookie likely to go into the season as the starting quarterback for the defending Super Bowl champions. Defensive tackle Kenny Clark of UCLA was drafted by the Green Bay Packers. Inexplicably, the San Francisco 49ers traded three picks to the Chiefs to stretch for Stanford guard Joshua Garnett of UCLA.

Highly talented defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche of Mississippi was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals. Louisiana defensive tackle Vernon Butler was selected by the Carolina Panthers. The final pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft was the Seattle Seahawks' selection of Texas A&M guard Germain Efredi.

The biggest stories of the first day of the draft was the internet postings related to tackle Laremy Tunsil who fell to number 13 after initially being projected as perhaps the first player to be taken. Ohio State also made its mark by sending five players to the pros in the first round. But they had hoped for even more with several players, including wide receiver Michael Thomas, remaining on the boards for later rounds. Notre Dame also sent two first rounders to the pros. The San Francisco 49ers had two first round picks: defensive end DeForest Buckner with the 7th pick and guard Joshua Garnett with the 30th. The New England Patriots (due to Deflategate) and the Kansas City Chiefs (by virtue of their trade with the 49ers) had no first round picks. Among the most talented players still available are UCLA linebacker Myles Jack, Alabama linebacker Reggie Ragland, Alabama defensive tackles A'Shawn Robinson and Jarran Reed, Eastern Kentucky defensive end Noah Spence and quarterbacks Connor Cook from Michigan State and Christian Hackenberg of Penn State.

There were 15 offensive players and 16 defensive players taken in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft. The offensive players included three quarterbacks, one running back, four wide receivers, four tackles, two guards and a center. No tight ends were drafted in the first round. The defensive players included three defensive ends, four defensive tackles, two linebackers and seven defensive backs. No kickers were drafted in round one. The most popular position was defensive back.

2016 NFL Draft Round One
RoundPickPlayerNameTeamPositionCollegeSource
111Jared GoffRamsQBCaliforniaTitans
122Carson WentzEaglesQBNorth Dakota StateBrowns
133Joey BosaChargersDEOhio State 
144EzekielCowboysRBOhio State 
155Jalen Ramsey JaguarsDBFlorida State 
166Ronnie StanleyRavensTNotre Dame 
177DeForest Buckner49ersDEOregon 
188Jack ConklinTitansTMichigan StateDolphins through Eagles and Browns
199Leonard FloydBearsLBGeorgiaBuccaneers
11010Eli AppleGiantsDBOhio State 
11111Vernon HargreavesBuccaneersDBFloridaBears
11212Sheldon RankinsSaintsDTLouisville 
11313Laremy TunsilDolphinsTMississippiEagles
11414Karl JosephRaidersDBWest Virginia 
11515Corey ColemanBrownsWRBaylorRams through Titans
11616Taylor DeckerLionsTOhio State 
11717Keanu NealFalconsDBFlorida 
11818Ryan KellyColtsCAlabama 
11919Shaq LawsonBillsDEClemson 
12020Darron LeeJetsLBOhio State 
12121Will FullerTexansWRNotre DameRedskins
12222Josh DoctsonRedskinsWRTexas ChristianTexans
12323Laquon TreadwellVikingsWRMississippi 
12424William Jackson IIIBengalsDBHouston 
12525Artie BurnsSteelersDBMiami (FL) 
12626Paxton LynchBroncosQBMemphisSeahawks
12727Kenny ClarkPackersDTUCLA 
12828Joshua Garnett49ersGStanfordChiefs
12929Robert NkemdicheCardinalsDTMississippi 
13030Veron ButlerPanthersDTLouisiana Tech 
13131Germain EfediSeahawksGTexas A&MBroncos