Garceau: Tunsil And Jack Catch Cold Draft
College football's best were gathered in Chicago last night waiting to hug Roger Goodell and get their NFL career's started. There are 31 stories in the 2016 first round, for 2 or 3 of these special players it might be the start of a brilliant career that will have them wearing a Gold Jacket in Canton about 20 years from now. Others will disappoint and cringe when they hear the word bust attached to their name for the rest of their lives.
Long after I forget that 2016 was the year the Rams and Eagles aggressively traded up to grab quarterbacks Jared Goff and Carson Wentz, I will remember the visuals of two young men who had a rough night.
A few weeks ago massive Ole Miss Tackle Laremy Tunsil was the popular choice to be the first pick in the entire draft.
Maybe the mocks had it wrong but a wicked one-two Twitter/Instagram punch didn't help.
Tunsil had issues at Ole Miss, the scouting report included injuries and a suspension and this week he was sued by his stepfather over a dust-up last summer. Then just 13 minutes before the first pick in the draft right there on his Instagram account was Tunsil wearing a gas mask and smoking what appeared to be marijuana. ESPN had the video for all to see.
A cold-hearted person had hacked his account and tried to do him in at the worst time.
Tunsil handled a bad situation about as well as he could, he admitted he's made mistakes and yes that was him in the video. Not only was he not the first pick in the draft, he wasn't even the first tackle, he was the third offensive tackle selected when Miami got him with the 13th pick. It's estimated his slide down the board cost him 6-8 million dollars. Tough night!
UCLA's Myles Jack may be the most gifted athlete in the 2016 class. His ability would make him a top 5 pick in the first round. Jack was all dressed up and ready to meet the commissioner but a cruel thing happened Thursday night in Chicago, nobody called his name.
Nobody questioned Jack's play or his heart. The red-flag is a degenerative condition in his knee that won't prevent him from playing this season but could result in microfracture surgery in the next couple of years that might threaten his career.
One scout described his knee as a ticking time-bomb. Late in the first round the camera zoomed in on Jack as he sat still waiting in the Green Room. His body language spoke volumes as he sat alone and slowly shook his head from side to side. His dream would have to wait at least another day.