NFL Draft 2016 Winners & Losers

Winners and losers from Round 1

WINNERS
Jacksonville: Jacksonville faced a potential dilemma at the No. 5 pick, especially after UCLA LB Myles Jack's slide. The Jaguars needed to address their defense, but not all of the top players on the board were fits for what Gus Bradley needed. And then the Dallas Cowboys selected Ezekiel Elliott at No. 4, clearing the way for Jacksonville to grab Florida State CB Jalen Ramsey. Arguably the draft's top overall player, Ramsey should add an immediate competitive boost to the Jaguars' secondary.

Urban Meyer: Ohio State’s head coach saw five of his players (DE Joey Bosa, RB Ezekiel Elliott, CB Eli Apple, T Taylor Decker and LB Darron Lee) taken in the first 20 picks. The Buckeyes fell one player short of matching Miami's (Fla.) 12-year-old record of having six first-rounders in one draft. Still, Meyer could not have asked for a better recruiting plug.

Tennessee Titans: Jon Robinson and the Tennessee Titans management worked this draft to perfection. They got the tackle they needed to protect Marcus Mariota in Jack Conklin and still have more picks that they got from the Rams for next year. That’s how you build a franchise.
Cleveland Browns: Well the Browns finally had a good draft. They amassed even more picks on draft night including another in the top 100 (76). They also took a speedy wide out to pair with presumptive starting quarterback Robert Griffin III.

Miami Dolphins: When the night started, Laremy Tunsil was at the top of many offensive tackle rankings, but a Twitter hack led to his tumble down to the Dolphins. Miami gets a brick wall to protect Ryan Tannehill who has been sacked the most times since 2013.
Oakland Raiders: The Raiders have a great young quarterback, a stud young wide receiver and a star pass rusher, but they needed a weapon in the secondary. By getting Karl Joseph, the best safety in a weak safety class, the Raiders threw themselves into the race in the AFC West.
Denver Broncos: The reigning champs went into draft day without a quarterback and followed by rumors including the names “Bradford” and “Kaepernick.” They were able to trade up to get their quarterback of the future, Paxton Lynch, as a permanent solution rather than trading for a temporary fix.
LOSERS
New England Patriots: No matter how you view it, losing a first-round pick and getting nothing in return hurts. The silence from New England last night - except for the whining from their fans - was not a good thing for the Patriots.
Alabama: None of their highly-rated defensive players (DTs Jarran Reed and A'Shawn Robinson and LB Reggie Ragland) were picked in Round 1 despite so many projections to the contrary. Heisman Trophy-winning RB Derrick Henry also remains on the board, though that's not a surprise. C Ryan Kelly was the only Tide player drafted Thursday. It was the second consecutive draft that featured only one of Nick Saban's stars in the opening round (WR Amari Cooper went fourth overall in 2015).
Roger Goodell: When the boos for you are louder than they are for the Packers in Chicago, not a good thing.
Myles Jack: Pre-draft whispers that the UCLA linebacker's troublesome knee would drop him out of the top 10 sadly proved only partially prophetic. Once viewed as a lock for the top five, Jack shockingly remains available heading into Friday's second round.
Colin Kaepernick: He had the opportunity to join the Broncos, for a price of course – a portion of his 2016 salary. Kaepernick declined the pay cut, and now he's seemingly lost the chance to reboot his career in quarterback heaven after Denver made the move to draft Lynch with the 26th pick. Now it seems all but certain Kaep will have to resign himself to remaining with a team he seemed so eager to bolt.
Laremy Tunsil: NFL teams knew about the existence of the video of the Ole Miss tackle taking a bong hit. Minutes before the draft so did the public when it appeared on Tunsil’s Twitter account – which was hacked, he said. Still, now everyone knows why the guy dropped to No. 13 (to the Miami Dolphins). Though Tunsil said he was sabotaged by a hacked Twitter account, the past indiscretion wound up costing him millions.
New York Giants: The Giants took a good cornerback at 10 in Eli Apple, but they didn’t take the best cornerback on the board and they didn’t even need a cornerback to begin with. They need offensive line help, and at 10 they still could have grabbed Tunsil.
New York Jets: The Jets had the chance to take Paxton Lynch at 20, but passed on the quarterback and now have a real problem on their hands. They either have to pay Ryan Fitzpatrick or start Geno Smith, who has not proven himself capable of starting in the NFL.
Dallas Cowboys: Ezekiel Elliott is going to be a great NFL running back, but running back was not what the Cowboys needed. Darren McFadden and Alfred Morris would have been able to hold down the fort another year, and the Cowboys needed some weapons, like Jalen Ramsey, on defense.

Zeke!

Cincinnati Bengals: The Bengals missed out on the wide receiver spree when they needed a receiver very badly. Fuller, Doctson and Treadwell went back to back to back, and the Bengals missed out on their star number two receiver.
San Francisco 49ers: They traded back into the first round to pick Josh Garnett, but the question is why? Garnett very well could have been there in the second round, and the Niners had to give up a second, fourth and sixth round pick.

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Joey Bossa