PHILADELPHIA -- The 2017 draft class of quarterbacks built a scouting reputation as a not-ready-for-primetime group the last few months, but the NFL didn't draft like it on Thursday.
Three QBs were gone within the draft's first dozen selections -- Mitchell Trubisky, Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson -- and the clubs who chose them all traded up for them. First it was the Chicago Bears moving up from No. 3 to No. 2 in a deal with the San Francisco 49ers to take North Carolina's Trubisky. Then it was the Kansas City Chiefs moving all the way up from the No. 27 pick to No. 10 for Mahomes, in a deal with the Buffalo Bills. And just two picks later, the Houston Texans traded up with the Cleveland Browns to take Watson.
It all drove home the reality that if you don't have a top-shelf quarterback in the NFL, you probably don't have a winning team, either. And what drove it home even more was the prices paid to move up for these three:
49ers receive from Bears: No. 3 overall pick, No. 67 overall pick (Round 3), No. 111 overall pick (Round 4), 2018 third-round pick.
Bills receive from Chiefs: No. 27 overall pick, No. 91 overall pick (Round 3), 2018 first-round pick.
Browns receive Texans: No. 25 overall pick, 2018 first-round pick.
That's a lot of draft value for three quarterbacks who supposedly will need some seasoning before they're even ready for Sunday action. But if they eventually prove capable of carrying a franchise, the price will look microscopically small.
Here are a few other things we didn't see coming from Round 1:
1. Corey Davis gets early call: Nobody can say the Tennessee Titans don't trust their filmwork. As a four-year starter who put up huge numbers at Western Michigan, the tape library for general manager Jon Robinson to work with was very deep, but Davis wasn't healthy enough to participate in the NFL Scouting Combine or at pro day. That clearly didn't matter to the Titans, who made him the first receiver selected at an earlier point than he was projected.
2. Tide slide: It took until the 16th pick of the draft for an Alabama player to come off the board (CB Marlon Humphrey to Ravens), and until No. 31 overall for LB Reuben Foster's wait to end. Alabama finished with four first-rounders, but they didn't come off the board too quickly. DL Jonathan Allen fell to No. 17 overall to the Washington Redskins, and two picks later, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took TE O.J. Howard. For two guys thought to be a potential top-10 picks, it was a long wait for Allen and Howard. But considering Allen grew up as a big Redskins fan, it could have been worse for him. NFL.com analyst Daniel Jeremiah had the Allen pick nailed with his mock draft 5.0, but slotted him with the Bengals in his final mock.
3. Cornered market: Few were surprised that Marshon Lattimore was the first in a loaded class of cornerbacks to get a draft call, but Lattimore falling out of the top 10 into the waiting arms of the New Orleans Saints wasn't in the script.
4. Raiders take Conley: The draft fall for Ohio State CB Gareon Conley was expected to be precipitous -- measured by rounds, not picks -- following an allegation of rape that remains under investigation. Instead, the Oakland Raiders selected Conley at No. 24 overall. Per NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport, Conley passed a polygraph for a club other than the Raiders earlier on Thursday.
5. Cook still waiting: Call it at least a mild surprise that Florida State RB Dalvin Cook will go into Friday still available. While he was expected to drop some due to character concerns, he was still looked upon as a first-round talent and a potential target for the Buccaneers' pick at No. 19.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
