CHICAGO, IL – APRIL 28: (L-R) Ezekiel Elliott of Ohio State holds up a jersey with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being picked #4 overall by the Dallas Cowboys during the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University on April 28, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images)

The 10 least surprising picks from Round 1 of the 2016 NFL draft

Round 1 is in the books. Here’s what surprised nobody…

1. Rams take QB Jared Goff: This was the worst-kept secret in sports for a week.

2. Eagles take QB Carson Wentz: This was the second-worst-kept secret in sports for a week.

4. Cowboys take RB Ezekiel Elliott: Let’s be real, although only one other back has been selected this early in the last eight years, we had to at least partly expect Jerry Jones would go with a flashy offensive player instead of a surer thing at a more important position (yes, I’m referring to Jalen Ramsey).

5. Jaguars take CB Jalen Ramsey: Once the Chargers and Cowboys passed on Ramsey, this was a no-brainer. We’re talking about a guy who many figured would be the top pick before Los Angeles and Philadelphia made their desperate trades to the top.

7. 49ers take DE DeForest Buckner: The entire San Francisco defense needs to be rebuilt in a major way. With Jared Goff and the top two quarterbacks gone, duh.

11. Buccaneers take CB Vernon Hargreaves III: The trade wasn’t predictable, but everybody on the planet was mocking Hargreaves to the Bucs.

12. Saints take DT Sheldon Rankins: Everybody on the planet was mocking Hargreaves to the Saints.

18. Colts take C Ryan Kelly: Kelly’s stock rose a ton in the last few days, with a lot of experts concluding he’d go to Indy in this spot. It just makes so much sense. He’s Andrew Luck’s Jeff Saturday.

23. Vikings take WR Laquon Treadwell: We weren’t entirely sure which wide receiver the Vikes would take, but it seemed pretty obvious they’d take one. And when Treadwill slid, this just made sense.

24. Bengals take CB William Jackson III: Great value here for a team that hasn’t re-signed Leon Hall. They did bring Adam Jones back, but the cornerback formerly know as Pacman is 32.

About Brad Gagnon

Brad Gagnon has been passionate about both sports and mass media since he was in diapers -- a passion that won't die until he's in them again. Based in Toronto, he's worked as a national NFL blog editor at theScore.com, a producer and writer at theScore Television Network and a host, reporter and play-by-play voice at Rogers TV. His work has also appeared at CBSSports.com, Deadspin, FoxSports.com, The Guardian, The Hockey News and elsewhere at Comeback Media, but his day gig has him covering the NFL nationally for Bleacher Report.

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