Every year, the NFL trumps any reality television program available to the public. It is the pinnacle of unscripted, raw drama. So much so that experts drown themselves in research and produce mock draft after mock draft trying to pin down exactly where each team will draft. Somehow, it just doesn’t work out.
Top prospects slide and unknown players surge up the boards. General managers play poker with their picks, trading in, out, and around the draft. No one knows what is going to happen – the element of surprise is present in droves.
That’s the biggest draw of the NFL draft. Nonetheless, there’s still a point where surprise becomes pure shock. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the 10 most shocking picks of the 2016 NFL draft.
10. Scooby Wright – Cleveland Browns (250th overall)
Didn’t Wright win virtually every award in 2014? Wasn’t he supposed to be a top 10 pick at some point? How do you go from that to three picks away from being Mr. Irrelevant? He has some major durability concerns, and lacks elite athleticism, but his football instincts are insanely good. The Browns may have gotten a steal here.
9. Rico Gathers – Dallas Cowboys (217th overall)
What’s shocking about selecting a basketball player in the NFL draft? I don’t know – you tell me.
8. Joey Bosa – San Diego Chargers (3rd overall)
It was a foregone conclusion that San Diego was going with one of the offensive tackles or Jalen Ramsey in the first round. San Diego set the tone for a pretty shocking first round when they selected Bosa. In hindsight, we probably shouldn’t be so surprised by this, considering the Chargers have holes all over the roster.
7. Cody Kessler – Cleveland Browns (93rd overall)
I don’t know why everyone’s laughing at Cleveland. They have or have had two Heisman-winning quarterbacks on the roster in Johnny Manziel and Robert Griffin III! Now, they add a guy who was going to be a top 10 pick before he had to actually play football in 2015. Why the uproar over this pick?
6. Karl Joseph – Oakland Raiders (14th overall)
Joseph was a real possibility for the Titans at 33, as I repeatedly told anyone who would listen before the NFL draft (We’re in Nashville – I’m a Titans fan). If you listened to the SoBros live coverage of the NFL draft, you probably heard my heart crack open when the West Virginia product went at 14 to Oakland.
5. Roberto Aguayo – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (59th overall)
A kicker in the second round? Tampa Bay TRADED UP to take a kicker in the second round? WUT? Somebody is taking these new kickoff rules a bit too seriously.
4. Connor Cook – Oakland Raiders (100th overall)
Some (our own Bill Griffin included) thought Cook would go in the first round. NOPE – slid all the way down to 100. More shocking, Cook went to a team on which he will have virtually zero chance of being named the starter. Good, douche – serves you right.
3. Eli Apple – New York Giants (10th overall)
Vernon Hargreaves III was the consensus top cornerback in this year’s draft. However, the fact that New York took Apple over Hargreaves isn’t as baffling as the fact that the Giants selected a corner at 10 after paying boat loads of cash to Janoris Jenkins in the offseason.
2. Keanu Neal – Atlanta Falcons (17th overall)
3rd round grade? Meh – who cares!? 17th overall seems like a logical spot for this sort of value. It’s not like Atlanta needed pass rushers, linebackers, or any other defensive position more! Neal’s suit game was on point, though.
1. Jaylon Smith – Dallas Cowboys (34th overall)
Hands down both the most shocking and ‘most Cowboys’ move of the draft. Now, let it be known to all the masses, the doctor who performed Smith’s surgery? The Dallas Cowboys’ team doctor. So, yeah – they had a better understanding of his condition than other teams. It’s not that Jerry Jones drafted him. It’s that Jerry Jones drafted him at 34. Could he become the greatest player out of this draft? Yes. Will he make an impact in 2016? No. Will he ever even play in the NFL? Who knows?
Stoney Keeley is the editor of the SoBros Network, Tennessee Titans Featured Analyst for Pro Football Spot, and covers the WWE for WrestlingNews.co. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley,@PFSpot, @WrestlingNewsCo
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