10 Most Shocking Picks from the 2017 NFL Draft

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This year, the NFL Draft had several surprising themes. Teams like the Tennessee Titans and Carolina Panthers elected to build around their talented quarterbacks when we thought they’d look to bolster the defense earlier. The Chicago Bears have us wondering if they know how to build a football team. In John Lynch’s first year as general manager of the San Francisco 49ers, he was wheelin’ and dealin’ like a veteran. Though New England only selected four players, they

The saddest theme of this year’s draft is that a lot of these guys facing domestic abuse charges seemed unaffected by that. OF COURSE Joe Mixon ended up as a Cincinnati Bengal. Dede Westbrook goes to Jacksonville. The Cleveland Browns drafted Caleb Brantley, and then immediately stated they might not keep him – wut? There are others, and it’s a concerning trend made possible by society’s construct of money and power. High-profile men commit these crimes and get away with them because they have the resources and support to do so. It’s a problem.

I will say, in fairness to Gareon Conley, the facts surrounding him being accused of rape are still yet to surface. A thorough investigation will be conducted, so I’ll reserve judgment until then. Anyway, back to the football analysis…

The 10 Most Shocking Picks from the 2017 NFL Draft

10. Round 2: Adam Shaheen, Chicago Bears – I don’t really understand what the Bears were doing at all this year. After giving away a load of draft picks to get Mitchell Trubisky in the first round, they pass on some more polished tight end prospects to take a project guy. Smdh.

9. Round 7: Chad Kelly, Denver Broncos – The Broncos made Kelly Mr. Irrelevant. It’s surprising that a guy who was once considered among the top 5 quarterbacks in this draft almost didn’t get drafted. As teams got to know Kelly throughout the draft process, they were turned off. But, his talent was eventually too good to pass up. Also, no, he won’t start right away or anything like that, but at the very least, this does provide for an interesting storyline in Broncos camp this summer.

8. Round 2: Curtis Samuel, Carolina Panthers – The Panthers defense needed some help, but the offense was the focal point of the early rounds of this draft. After taking Christian McCaffrey in the first round, the Panthers surprised us all by selecting Samuel and stockpiling talent around Cam Newton.

7. Round 3: Brendan Langley, Denver Broncos – Langley was a cornerback I said the Titans should look at in the late rounds of the draft. Every mock I read had Langley going round 6-7, if drafted at all. The Broncos spent prime capital to bring in the project defensive back.

6. Round 2: DeShone Kizer, Cleveland Browns – It’s not so much that this was a questionable pick; it’s that the Browns waited on a quarterback and didn’t get burned by doing so. Many thought Kizer would go in the first round, so it was unlikely for him to be there when the Browns chose. The Browns were patient, didn’t reach, and ended up with Kizer.

5. Round 1: John Ross, Cincinnati Bengals – Well, Corey Davis and Mike Williams are off the board. Surely, the Bengals won’t take a wide receiver, right? RIGHT?! Nope – they grab the speedster out of Washington, leading to three receivers going in the top 10.

4. Round 1: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs – Some thought one quarterback would go in the first round this year. Some thought ‘none’ was a possibility as well. The Chiefs made sure two went in the top 10. Mahomes is a raw, developmental guy with supreme arm talent.

3. Round 1: Corey Davis, Tennessee Titans – The Titans could’ve picked any wide receiver they wanted and they selected Davis. General manager Jon Robinson covets production, but it still comes as a shock that Mike Williams was not the first receiver chosen this year.

2. Round 1: Evan Engram, New York Giants – The offensive line has been the question mark surrounding this team for a couple of years now. With only Garrett Bolles off the board, the Giants had their pick of the rest of the offensive line litter. Instead of taking Cam Robinson or Forrest Lamp, they go with Engram, who was consistently ranked behind David Njoku. The hope is that Engram becomes a legitimate mismatch nightmare and scoring threat. But, leaving the offensive line to sort itself out may prove costly.

1. Round 1: Mitchell Trubisky, Chicago Bears – The Bears with another head-scratcher. It’s not necessarily shocking that Trubisky was the second player drafted this year. But, what the Bears gave up to get him is astounding. Offering San Francisco the 3rd overall pick, a third this year and next year, and this year’s fourth round selection, the Bears moved up one spot to select the former North Carolina quarterback.

Sure, there are questions about whether this kid is going to be a starter in the league in five years. But, the Bears aren’t talented or deep enough to afford the luxury of giving away draft picks like this. This is how bad franchises stay bad franchises.

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. A strong advocate of GSD (get shit done) and #BeBetter, he’s down to talk Tennessee Titans and Alabama Crimson Tide football over a beer any day. Check him out covering the WWE for WrestlingNews.co. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley@WrestlingNewsCo

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