Trade winds blow on first night of draft

Those poor Cleveland Browns. They couldn’t even win the first night of the NFL draft as owners of the No. 1 and No. 12 overall picks.

The Chicago Bears stole all their thunder and everybody else’s with a stunning trade-up and selection before the draft was 20 minutes old Thursday night.

Da Bears dropped jaws inside and outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art — first in completing a stunning deal with the San Francisco 49ers just to move up one spot to No. 2 overall. Then by selected a quarterback, the University of North Carolina’s raw but promising Mitchell Trubisky.

The Bears gave up a ton to get him. They sent the No. 3 pick to the Niners, two third-round draft picks (one next year) plus a fourth-rounder. That’s a helluva haul for new 49ers GM John Lynch.

The Browns opened proceedings not by selecting local boy Trubisky, a rumour that had gained traction earlier this week, but was mostly laughed off, but instead snaring the most talented player in this year’s draft class: Myles Garrett, a pass rusher in the Von Miller mould with 20 more pounds.

Surprises continued as the top 10 picks were submitted.

There was only one other trade in that window, but it was another biggie — for a quarterback. The Kansas City Chiefs paid big time to move up 16 spots and select the second quarterback of the night: Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes II at No. 10 overall.

In return Kansas City gave the Buffalo Bills their No. 27 pick, plus their firstrounder next year and a third-rounder Friday night.

The NFL draft continues Friday, starting at 7 p.m. EDT with rounds 2 and 3. The draft concludes Saturday with rounds 4-7 starting at noon EDT.