Offensive picks, quarterbacks are prized early

PHILADELPHIA » With defensive studs everywhere in this draft, NFL teams turned offensive. With an emphasis on quarterbacks.

Hardly stunning in a pass-happy league, except that no quarterbacks in this crop have been highly touted. Yet three went in the first dozen April 27, with two surprising trades putting the Bears and Chiefs in position to grab QBs.

Chicago paid a whopping price to move up one spot to second overall for North Carolina’s Mitchell Trubisky. Kansas City gave up its first-rounder next year to go from 27th to 10th for Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes.

Altogether, eight of the first dozen picks were offensive players, including Houston trading up for Clemson QB Deshaun Watson.

One controversial pick was Ohio State cornerback Gareon Conley, who was drafted by Oakland at No. 24. Days before the draft, allegations emerged that Conley raped a woman in Cleveland. He called the accusations “completely false” and no charges have been filed. Conley was named in a police report that details the allegations but no information has been forwarded to prosecutors.

The top of the draft was predictable: Roger Goodell got booed, then Myles Garrett was picked first by the Cleveland Browns.

“C’mon, Philly, C’mon,” Goodell said Thursday night amid the boos, not even wincing at the reception. Moments later, he was back onstage announcing the Texas A&M defensive end’s name. Garrett, a junior and All-American considered the best pass rusher in this crop, is the first Aggie selected No. 1 overall.

Garrett stayed close to home in Texas, and he promised Cleveland fans “great things are coming.”

Cleveland went 1-15 last season and has holes everywhere. It ranked 31st defensively and had only 26 sacks.

The Browns were the first team since Minnesota in 2013 with three firstrounders. Cleveland also took Michigan safety Jabrill Peppers and Miami tight end David Njoku.

The Bears sent a thirdround pick, a fourth and a 2018 third to San Francisco to switch that one slot and take Trubisky, who started only 13 games for North Carolina.

“It was crazy,” Trubisky said. “There was no call. I didn’t think I was going to be picked until the commissioner said my name.”

San Francisco was up next, and new general manager John Lynch already was looking good for bringing in such a haul to drop back to No. 3. The 49ers took DE Solomon Thomas from just down the road at Stanford.

For much of the round, it was an offensive draft, although the breakdown wound up 19-13 on defense, including strings of six and five defenders from the 13th pick onward.