What a whirlwind of trades, maneuvers, and surprise picks the first round was. Here are five shocking moments from last night.
5. The 49ers select Illinois wide receiver A.J. Jenkins at number 30.
Many analysts thought the 49ers would grab a wide receiver, but few, if any, even considered the possibility of them taking A.J. Jenkins over Rueben Randle or Stephen Hill, both of whom have fallen out of the first round.
4. Melvin Ingram falls to number eighteen.
The San Diego Chargers were only too happy to snatch up the freakishly athletic defensive end out of South Carolina in slot number eighteen. Most NFL pundits had placed Ingram in their top ten or just outside of it.
3. The Seahawks select West Virginia outside linebacker Bruce Irvin with the 15th overall pick.
Pete Carroll threw a massive curveball with his first round choice for the second year in a row, eschewing conventional wisdom and passing over the likes of Chandler Jones, Melvin Ingram, Quinton Coples, and Shea McClellin – all of whom were projected above Irvin by the vast majority of analysts.
2. Dallas trades up to steal Claiborne
Dallas traded with the St. Louis Rams to acquire the sixth overall slot in order to capture the best cornerback prospect in the draft, Morris Claiborne out of LSU. It had originally been thought that Claiborne would fall to the Buccaneers in the fifth slot, but the Jaguars traded into that position to pluck wide receiver Justin Blackmon, making Claiborne available in the sixth position.
1. The Browns trade up one slot to take Trent Richardson
On the surface, this seems like a bit of a head scratcher. There was never any indication that the Vikings were interested in Richardson in the first place and the Browns were right behind the Vikings in the fourth spot. The Vikings, as far as one can tell, were always going to take Matt Kalil.
However, there were rumors that the Buccaneers, sitting in the fifth slot at the time, were interested in trading into the third slot as well. By giving the Vikings a fourth, fifth, and seventh round draft pick for the trade, the Browns blocked the Buccaneers from leapfrogging them and taking Richardson for themselves.
In Richardson, the Browns get a true franchise running back who should instantly change the complexion of Cleveland’s offense.