Winners and losers of the first round

(photo credit: abcnews.com)

Loser – Laremy Tunsil: I don't think there's ever been a draft day like what we saw with Tunsil's slide. Before Los Angeles and Philadelphia traded for the top two picks the Ole Miss product was the favorite to be the first selection in the draft. After it became clear that Jared Goff and Carson Wertz would go #1 and #2 Tunsil was still considered a lock for a top 5 pick. That changed when a video of Tunsil smoking from a gas mask bong was sent from his verified twitter account 10 minutes before the draft started. The Miami Dolphins stopped his fall picking him at 13. Then Tunsil's Instagram account posted text message screenshots which implied members of the Rebels football program committed NCAA violations. There's some speculation that Tunsil's step-father, who filed a lawsuit against him the day before the draft, was involved in the release of the video. In a blog post Deadspin said that the video had previously been shopped around.

Winner – Ronnie Stanley and Jack Conklin: One man's curse is another man's blessing. Both of these Offensive Tackles were selected higher than projected due to Tunsil's slide. Reports are that the Baltimore Ravens, who selected Stanley with the 6^th pick, removed Tunsil from their draft board once the video became public.

Winner – Ezekiel Elliott: The fact that Elliott went number 4 in the draft is crazy. Over the past decade the NFL has become a pass-centric league with the work-horse backs being phased out. Zeke is a once in a generation talent at the position, but I can't justify how high he went based off of positional value.

Winner – Ohio State and Urban Meyer: As someone who scouts and covers high school football I can tell you that high school players pay attention to the draft. Every kid who plays Division 1 Football has the goal of hearing their name called at the draft. This makes a coach's draft record a huge deal on the recruiting trail. Ohio State produced 4 of the top 16 picks and a record tying 5 first round picks. That's something Urban Meyer will make sure every Ohio State prospect knows.

Winner – Paxton Lynch: I don't think that Lynch was worth a first round pick, you spend that on someone who's ready to come in and start for your football team. Lynch has a lot of potential, but it's going to be a while until he's ready to start. Thanks to the Quarterback market being set by Los Angeles and Philadelphia and a breakdown in trade talks with San Francisco John Elway was compelled to move up and make the former Tiger a Bronco. Lynch is in a great situation with on of the best defenses to support him as he learns the ropes of the NFL.

Winner – Kirk Cousins: With the Washington Red-faces adding Josh Dobson to an already dangerous receiving corps led by DeShawn Jackson the former Spartan has a ton of weapons to get the ball too.

Winner/Loser – Cleveland Browns: Cleveland didn't do anything implosive and pick reach for a Quarterback which is a smart. In fact they moved down and gained even more picks after getting a boatload from the Eagles for the #2 pick. But as much value as Cleveland has gained with all the picks it won't mean anything if they make wrong selections. Just look at the Philadelphia 76ers who theoretically won every trade but have been the worst NBA team over the past 3 seasons. I don't know how Cleveland's new Front Office will use these assets, but the franchise's track record isn't great.

Loser -  Myles Jack: Some people thought the he was the best prospect on the board. But concerns about a surgically repaired knee have cause coaches and General Mangers to run away from the Bruins standout. Had Jack been in last year's NFL Draft he'd have gone in the top 5. I know Tunsil has been a bigger story, but don't know of any prospect who's slid as much as Jack did on the first day of the draft.