Quarterbacks taken 1-2 in NFL draft
CHICAGO — Drama? What drama?
Despite three months of intense trade speculation, no team could convince the Tennessee Titans to part with the No. 2 overall pick on what turned out to be a rather hohum Day 1 of the NFL draft on Thursday night.
The Titans did what few thought they would. They selected Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, whose spread style in college appears at odds with head coach Ken Whisenhunt’s traditional pro passing scheme.
The first NFL draft held outside New York City in 50 years kicked off 10 minutes earlier when, as expected, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston No. 1 overall.
Neither Winston nor Mariota was in attendance, each having decided weeks ago to spend the night with their families in their home states of Alabama and Hawaii, respectively.
“Man, I’m just blessed,” Winston told NFL Network as some 200 invited family and friends cheered him in Bessemer, Ala.
“I’ve got to be thankful, thankful (to Bucs owners, GM Jason Licht and head coach Lovie Smith) for giving me this opportunity.
“And a shout out to Tampa Bay nation. Thank you for accepting me as your quarterback right now. I look forward to getting in there with the guys, earning a spot and competing my tail off and bring us some wins.”
Only a pair of minor, downthe-board trades occurred on the night.
At No. 3, the Jacksonville Jaguars selected the draft’s premier edge rusher, Dante Fowler Jr., from the University of Florida.
At No. 4, the Oakland Raiders gave their young quarterback Derek Carr a desperately needed premier target to throw to, choosing Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper.
Cooper also chose not to attend the draft, held in the cramped but quaint Auditorium Theatre in Roosevelt University’s downtown highrise.
At No. 5, the Washington Redskins made the first eyebrow-raising pick of the evening, taking Iowa offensive tackle Brandon Scherff higher in the first round than most draftniks had him pegged.
Scherff’s elevated selection meant USC defensive tackle Leonard Williams was still available at No. 6 for the New York Jets — a big surprise. He was seen as a Top 5 lock. Some analysts, such as NFL Network’s Mike Mayock, viewed Williams as the superior talent in this draft, quarterbacks included.
Yet it took the draft-daft Jets nearly all of their allotted 10 minutes to make the obvious choice: Williams.
At that point, it seemed a no-brainer the Chicago Bears would select the other wide receiver seen as a top 10 talent — Kevin White of West Virginia — after having traded away their top veteran receiver Brandon Marshall in March. That’s exactly what the Bears did, to the exultation of the pro-Bears audience.
The third defensive end of the night went eighth to the Atlanta Falcons: an elated Vic Beasley of Clemson, who said he grew up a Falcons fan.
At No. 9, the New York Giants picked the draft’s first offensive lineman, Miami-Florida tackle Ereck Flowers.
To round out the top 10, the St. Louis Rams chose running back Todd Gurley of Georgia.
The draft continues Friday night with Rounds 2 and 3 and concludes with a marathon session Saturday.