NFL Draft Round 1 Recap: Bears Move Up To Pick Mitchell Trubisky (No. 2), Giants Pick Evan Engram (No. 23)

The first round of the 2017 NFL Draft was held Thursday night in Philadelphia, and it featured both highly-expected picks and surprise moves and selections.

NFL Draft Round 1 Recap

The Cleveland Browns took Myles Garrett with the No. 1 overall pick, as expected. Most draft analysts seem to believe the long-armed, physically powerful Texas A&M defensive end will significantly help the Browns, who went 1-15 last season.

Among the biggest surprises were the Chicago Bears’ decision to move up one spot in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers to take North Carolina quarterback Mitchell Trubisky with the second overall pick. This seems particularly strange considering the Bears signed Mike Glennon to a three-year, $45 million contract earlier this offseason to make him the presumed starter.

Trubisky only has one year of experience as a starter, but amazed by completing 68 percent of his passes last season. The young QB stated he “did not have a lot of discussions” with the Bears during the pre-draft process, and added it was the team’s general manager Ryan Pace who revealed to him in a phone call that Glennon would get the starting role.

“I’m going to go into a great situation, where Mike is the starter,” Trubisky told reporters Thursday night. “So I look forward to learning from him and the other veterans on the team. I just have to come in, prove myself, learn the offense as quick as possible and help the Chicago Bears win.”

The 49ers ended up with the No. 3 overall pick as part of the trade with the Bears, selecting Stanford defensive end Solomon Thomas. San Francisco also receives third and fourth-round selections this year and a 2018 third-round pick.

The New York Jets took LSU safety Jamal Adams with the No. 6 overall pick, a selection USA TODAY’s “For the Win” writer Steven Ruiz highly approves of. Ruiz calls Adams a “game-changer in the secondary” and praised the defenseman for his versatility. “He’s a thumper in the run game, he can cover tight ends and he can even play the centerfield role in the deep middle,” says Ruiz.

New York’s other team did not manage to get a top-10 pick in Round 1. The Giants selected Mississippi tight end Evan Engram with the 23rd pick. Ruiz said that although Engram could help Big Blue improve their passing game, he also believes the tight end is not the best pick for the Giants for two reasons: “He’s not much of a run blocker,” and he’s not as good a tight end prospect as Miami’s David Njoku, whom the Browns took as the No. 29 pick.

Ruiz said he believes the Browns “nailed all three of their picks” in the first round: Garrett, Njoku and Michigan safety Jabrill Peppers, whom Cleveland got in a trade for a pick-spot with the Houston Texans.

The Texans selected Deshaun Watson, quarterback of the national championship-winning Clemson Tigers, with the 12th overall pick in that trade with Cleveland via the Philadelphia Eagles. Ruiz said that although he sees Watson has talent, he has a lot of work to do in order to truly make a difference on Houston’s offense. “The Clemson star needs to hit the deep ball more consistently and do a better job of reading defenses,” says Ruiz.

Rounding out the top-ten picks are LSU running back Leonard Fournette, who went to the Jacksonville Jaguars as No. 4, Western Michigan wide receiver Corey Davis (No. 5) who went to the Tennessee Titans, Clemson receiver Mike Williams (No. 7) who went to the Los Angeles Chargers, Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey (No. 8) who went to the Carolina Panthers, Washington wideout John Ross (No. 9), who went to the Cincinnati Bengals, and Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes, (No. 10), who went to the Kansas City Chiefs in a trade with the Buffalo Bills.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – APRIL 27: (L-R) Mitchell Trubisky of North Carolina poses with Commissioner of the National Football League Roger Goodell after being picked #2 overall by the Chicago Bears (from 49ers) during the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)