Ranking the 10 biggest NFL Draft shocks 

5. Denver Broncos trade up to take Tim Tebow

Denver Broncos Introduce Tim Tebow

Tebow Mania swept the United States in 2010. His performances with the Florida Gators and immense religious positivity built him a huge platform across the country.

NFL Draft experts and player analysts alike were stunned to see the meteoric rise of Tim Tebow, especially with few people having anything more than a third-round grade on him.

Question marks around his throwing power were present, while few thought he was anything other than a good leader.

So when the Denver Broncos moved up to the 25th pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, the world was stunned when they took Tebow.

All of a sudden, Tebow Mania hit a fever pitch, and he was now going to be the starting quarterback for the Broncos, who had given up second, third and fourth-round picks to secure the deal.

Overwhelming positivity was the emotion coming out of the Broncos’ fan-base, as well as the watching public, but this was a move nobody could have predicted, and it stunned everyone.

4. Laremy Tunsil’s gas mask incident

Laremy Tunsil pictured just before his NFL Draft drama developed

Social media has had an irreparable impact on professional sports, and it is completely down to a person’s personal beliefs whether or not they feel that impact is positive or not.

Laremy Tunsil was the best offensive lineman in the 2016 NFL Draft and, perhaps, the best player on the board outright.

He was the lock number one pick in 2016, with the Tennessee Titans expected to select him there once the evening began, until they traded the pick to the Rams.

However, drama was just around the corner as in the hours leading up to the 2016 NFL Draft, an image of Tunsil wearing a gas mask and smoking a bong emerged on Twitter.

What was so bizarre about this whole episode was the fact that the image was uploaded on Tunsil’s own account, with his agent declaring that the player had been hacked.

This quick explanation wasn’t enough to convince teams of Tunsil’s professionalism, and they were simply terrified of using such a high pick on a player that may well face disciplinary action for the act depicted in the image.

With rumors and speculation being the subject of NFL Draft coverage that year, Tunsil slid down draft boards, to an alarming degree.

As fans scrambled to figure out who was behind the picture leak, mathematicians among the audience were trying to figure out how much each dropped pick was costing the offensive lineman.

The Miami Dolphins eventually selected him with the 13th overall pick, but he should never have been down that low in the draft, with fans getting the first glimpse of just how damaging social media could be.

3. Eli Manning refuses to play for the San Diego Chargers

Eli Manning as a Charger

The 2004 NFL Draft was one of the better classes for quarterbacks, with Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Philip Rivers all tipped to be selected within the first 10 picks.

Manning was seen as the standout talent and the natural choice first overall, a pick that belonged to the San Diego Chargers.

When it became clear that the Chargers would hold the first pick, the Manning media machine began working in overdrive, making it clear he didn’t want to play in San Diego.

Many believe that Archie Manning had a concern that the Chargers weren’t built to ever succeed, and he didn’t want his son to be stuck in a dead-end spot like he was with the New Orleans Saints.

Nobody knew what the Chargers would do, with the team suggesting they wouldn’t be bullied into selecting another player, or even trading the pick. Eli Manning stayed, somewhat, quiet during the process, with this supporting the belief that Manning Sr. was in the driving seat of the plan.

However, the camp wasn’t afraid to leak that Eli would be happy to sit out the 2004 season, and by the time the NFL Draft arrived, speculation was at a fever pitch as to just what would happen.

The Chargers stuck to their word and selected Manning with the first pick, which made for perhaps the most awkward commissioner/jersey picture in league history… yet the drama wasn’t over.

The Chargers had selected Manning as leverage, knowing that holding his registration was more valuable than the pick itself, and later in the night a trade was completed with the New York Giants, which saw Philip Rivers traded to San Diego and Manning head to the Big Apple, satisfying the Manning family’s demands.