Report: Jets Tried To Trade Up For Tunsil As He Tumbled Down
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A year after having arguably the best player in the NFL Draft fall to him, Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan reportedly tried to move up to grab another one.
Laremy Tunsil, the supremely gifted offensive tackle out of Ole Miss, was passed over by a number of teams during Thursday's first round after a video of him smoking a bong through a gas mask appeared on his own Twitter account, literally as the festivities in Chicago were getting started.
Prior to Tennessee trading the No. 1 overall pick to the Los Angeles Rams a few weeks ago, the prevailing thought was Tunsil would be the first player selected. Once the Titans moved down and the Philadelphia Eagles moved up to No. 2, it became apparent that quarterbacks Jared Goff and Carson Wentz were going to be the first players off the board.
Still, Tunsil figured to be at worst a top-five pick. But after the video surfaced, a clip that the 6-foot-5, 315-pound tackle admitted was of him but that he was not responsible for posting on social media, he dropped all the way down to No. 13, where he was selected by the Miami Dolphins. The bizarre situation cost Tunsil millions of dollars.
According to a report in the Daily News, the Jets tried to jump up to grab Tunsil during his free fall, but the cost ended up being too prohibitive. Last year, defensive lineman Leonard Williams, who many labeled as the best player in the draft, slipped to New York at No. 6. He ended up having a very solid rookie season and is expected to become a cornerstone of the team's defense.
The Jets are looking to improve their offensive line following the retirement of longtime left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson. While they did acquire former perennial All-Pro Ryan Clady from the Denver Broncos just a few days after the Ferguson news became known, Clady missed a slew of games over the last few seasons due to injury.
New York ended up staying at No. 20 and drafting Ohio State linebacker Darron Lee.
