CHICAGO -- The 2016 NFL Draft got its first shocker before the first pick was even made, and didn't fail to entertain through the end of Day 3. Here's a look at nine of the biggest surprises of the draft:
- There are big surprises, then there are bizarre ones. The hacked Twitter video of Laremy Tunsil presumably smoking an illegal substance through a gas mask was both. The content and timing of the video, posted minutes before the draft began Thursday night, conspired to create a scramble for answers among NFL clubs and precipitated a fall to the No. 13 pick for arguably the best player in the draft. Things got even crazier when, just after he was picked, his Instagram account was hacked as well, resulting in an investigation by Ole Miss athletics into potential NCAA violations. Suffice it to say Tunsil will have some housecleaning to do when it comes to choosing which people to surround himself with as a pro.
- Within a three-pick stretch near the top of the second round, two of the most notable falls in the NFL draft ended under very different circumstances. Notre Dame LB Jaylon Smith, out for all of 2016 with a knee injury, thought his draft slide was just beginning when Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made him cry tears of joy with a phone call to personally tell him he was a Cowboy at No. 34. At the time, UCLA LB Myles Jack probably just wanted to cry for real. He left Chicago after going undrafted in the first round, but the Jacksonville Jaguars traded up to take him soon after, at No. 36 overall.
- The quarterback position held to form in the first round. After that, it was all over the map. Jared Goff, Carson Wentz and Paxton Lynch were chosen in the first round, in the expected order and by teams that shocked no one. Then came the head-scratching: Connor Cook fell to Round 4, Christian Hackenberg became the fourth quarterback selected in the second round, and USC's Cody Kessler went ahead of Cook, Cardale Jones and Dak Prescott.
- Two unique draft longshots, both wholly lacking in college experience, got their names called on the final day: Baylor basketball player Rico Gathers and German football player Moritz Boehringer. Gathers hasn't played football since middle school, but as a 6-foot-8, 275-pound power forward, his athleticism could be an intriguing addition to Dallas Cowboys training camp. Boehringer became the first player ever drafted directly from Europe. The 6-foot-4, 227-pound receiver from the German Football League is now teammates with the player whose highlights first drew his interest in the game: Minnesota Vikings RB Adrian Peterson.
- For a team thought to be considering a quarterback in the first round, the San Francisco 49ers sure waited awhile to pull the trigger. New coach Chip Kelly and GM Trent Baalke finally added Louisiana Tech's Jeff Driskel, a graduate transfer who started out at Florida. The 49ers drafted him in the sixth round (No. 207 overall), all but assuring Colin Kaepernick will be the team's starter in 2016.
- Alabama defenders Jarran Reed, A'Shawn Robinson and Reggie Ragland, all invited to Chicago as expected first-round picks, slipped to Day 2. They made a pact, however, not to leave Chicago until the last of them had gotten the call. They were all gone midway through the second round.
- Defensive backs flew off the board in the first round at a quicker-than-expected pace. Seven were chosen, nearly a quarter of the round, and several went far sooner than projected. Among them: Eli Apple (Giants, No. 10), Karl Joseph (Raiders, No. 14) and Keanu Neal (Falcons, No. 17).
- Western Kentucky TE Tyler Higbee was expected to slide toward the end of Day 3 due to character concerns. Instead, the Los Angeles Rams took him in the fourth round.
- Three punters, one kicker and a long snapper got drafted. All of these guys didn't.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
