After a lot of fanfare and plenty of speculation, the 2016 NFL Draft is finally upon us, and the proceedings at the Auditorium Theatre will get underway with the Los Angeles Rams on the clock.
10:45 p.m.: The Arizona Cardinals have a history of taking talented players with off-field issues and turning them into solid producers, and that's what they'll hope to do again as they selected Robert Nkemdiche with the 29th pick.
The Carolina Panthers used the 30th selection to take defensive tackle Vernon Butler out of Louisiana Tech, and the Seattle Seahawks wrapped up the first round by taking offensive tackle Germain Ifedi with the 31st overall selection.
10:15 p.m.: The San Francisco 49'ers have traded back into the first round, getting the 28th pick in a swap with the Kansas City Chiefs. Stanford guard Joshua Garnett will be the selection.
10:11 p.m.: The Green Bay Packers have made their selection grabbing Kenny Clark with the 27th overall pick in the first round. He was an All-Pac 12 recipient in 2015, when he racked up five sacks for the Bruins.
10:02 p.m.: Well, there will be no trade sending Colin Kaepernick or Sam Bradford to Denver, as the Broncos have selected Paxton Lynch with the 26th overall pick.
10:00 p.m.: After several teams tried to move up in the first round, it's the Denver Broncos that have pulled the trigger on a deal, moving up to number 26 in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks. Could Connor Cook or Paxton Lynch be heading to the Mile High City?
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9:56 p.m.: Artie Burns from Miami is the second straight cornerback taken, as the Pittsburgh Steelers grabbed him with the 25th overall pick.
9:54 p.m.: The Cincinnati Bengals have found the player they hope will be their next elite corner, as they selected William Jackson III out of Houston. There was plenty of talk that the Bengals would try to find a receiver to pair up with A.J. Green, but they needed to get younger in their secondary, and that's exactly what they'll hope they've done.
9:47 p.m.: Crete-Monee product Laquon Treadwell is off the board, going to the Minnesota Vikings with the 23rd overall pick. The Vikings only had six touchdowns by receivers during the 2015 season, and Treadwell should provide a great partner for Stefon Diggs as Minnesota looks to shore up their receiver corps.
9:40 p.m.: Washington makes it back-to-back wide receivers as they take Josh Doctson out of TCU. Many draft experts had him as the top receiver available this season, and his tape reveals why. He had a really nice Combine as well, and he set career records for both yards and touchdowns as a member of the Horned Frogs.
9:32 p.m.: The Houston Texans have taken Will Fuller, wide receiver out of Notre Dame, with the 21st pick. The Texans moved up one spot in the draft order, swapping picks with Washington.
9:25 p.m.: The Buffalo Bills snared defensive end Shaq Lawson out of Clemson with the 19th pick, and the New York Jets picked Darron Lee with the 20th pick, giving Ohio State five players selected in the first 20 selections.
9:11 p.m.: The national champions are finally on the board in this year's NFL Draft, with center Ryan Kelly heading to the Indianapolis Colts. Ever since Jeff Saturday left the organization, the team has needed a significant upgrade in the middle of their offensive line, and he certainly will fill that void there.
9:08 p.m.: For the second year in a row, the Atlanta Falcons have addressed their defensive needs, taking safety Keanu Neal out of the University of Florida.
9:01 p.m.: Taylor Decker is the 16th pick, going to the Detroit Lions. The team was in desperate need of offensive line help, as they look to protect Matthew Stafford, and Decker (the fourth Ohio State Buckeye taken in the draft) certainly fills that role.
8:59 p.m.: Brace yourselves for a shock: the Cleveland Browns actually made a pick. They selected the first wide receiver of the draft, taking Corey Coleman out of Baylor University. The Browns still will need a long-term answer at quarterback even after signing Robert Griffin III, but at least the quarterback will have a solid answer at receiver.
8:53 p.m.: The Oakland Raiders hope that they've secured a long-term solution at safety, taking Karl Joseph out of West Virignia.
8:44 p.m.: Laremy Tunsil's free fall is over, as the Miami Dolphins have picked him with the 13th pick. He tumbled down the board after a video that appeared to show the tackle smoking marijuana was posted to his Twitter account just 10 minutes before the draft began.
8:38 p.m.: The New Orleans Saints have given themselves some serious versatility on their defensive line, taking Sheldon Rankins with the 12th pick. He played both end and tackle at Louisville, and his size and surprising athleticism should make him a really interesting NFL prospect.
8:29 p.m.: Vernon Hargreaves is the third cornerback off the board, as he has been selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 11th overall pick. He had a solid career with the Florida Gators, and although he's a bit undersized, he has good instincts when playing the ball.
8:26 p.m.: The New York Giants have selected cornerback Eli Apple out of Ohio State with the 10th overall pick. The Buckeyes have three players in the top 10, marking the first time they have ever accomplished the feat.
8:11 p.m.: The Chicago Bears have selected linebacker Leonard Floyd out of the University of Georgia. The racked up 55 tackles and six and a half sacks in his final season with the Bulldogs.
8:09 p.m.: The Chicago Bears have traded up to the number nine pick in the draft, moving up two spots in a swap with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
8:05 p.m.: Jack Conklin is a Tennessee Titan, as the organization moved up to grab him with the eighth pick. He'll be tasked with defending Marcus Mariota's blind side in Nashville, and it represents a solid selection by the Titans' new management group.
8:02 p.m.: We have the first trade ofthe night, as the Tennessee Titans have moved up to number eight and the Cleveland Browns have moved back to number 15. Who are they taking here? Myles Jack? Jack Conklin?
7:59 p.m.: Big bummer for Bears fans, as DeForest Buckner will not slide down the board to them. The San Francisco 49'ers will make him the seventh overall pick in the draft.
7:52 p.m.: For the first time since 2007, no SEC player was selected in the top five of this year's draft class. That streak continued with the sixth pick, as Notre Dame product Ronnie Stanley was selected by the Baltimore Ravens.
7:45 p.m.: The Jacksonville Jaguars went ahead and snagged the top cornerback in the class, adding Jalen Ramsey out of Florida State. Their defense will have an entirely new look this year, with Ramsey joining the squad and Dante Fowler, Jr. making his debut after missing the 2015 season with a knee injury.
7:36 p.m.: The Dallas Cowboys aren't used to picking this high in the draft, but they didn't waste any time in making their selection at the fourth spot. They have selected Ezekiel Elliott to make it back-to-back Buckeyes taken in the first round.
There had been some thought that a team would move up to take Elliott, with his excellent running speed and his penchant for pass blocking, but the Cowboys didn't give anyone the chance.
7:29 p.m.: No trade for the third pick, as the San Diego Chargers have made their selection. In a bit of a surprise, the Chargers opted for defensive help instead of an elite offensive lineman, taking defensive end Joey Bosa out of The Ohio State University.
The assumption of many experts heading into the draft was that the Chargers would want to get an elite tackle to help protect Phillip Rivers, who was sacked more than any other quarterback in the NFL last season.
7:22 p.m.: Carson Wentz is officially a Philadelphia Eagle, as he was selected with the second overall pick. Wentz played just 23 games at North Dakota, with a 20-3 record at the FCS school. Threw 45 career passing touchdowns in his career.
7:15 p.m.: The Rams have officially made their selection, picking quarterback Jared Goff out of California.
Goff becomes the fifth quarterback taken in the first round out of California. He threw 43 touchdowns in his final season with the Golden Bears, and was picked ahead of North Dakota quarterback Carson Wentz, who is expected to be taken second by the Philadelphia Eagles.
6:49 p.m.: Rumors are swirling that the Cleveland Browns are looking to drop down in the draft order. They already have done so once, moving down from the second pick to the eighth, but with a new front office dedicated to analytics, they're trying to acquire as many draft picks as possible.
Look for a team like the Miami Dolphins to move up, especially if a guy like Ezekiel Elliott is still available on the board.
The second overall pick was also traded in the lead-up to the draft, with the Philadelphia Eagles acquiring the pick from the Cleveland Browns. The Eagles are expected to use the pick on University of North Dakota QB Carson Wentz, who is then expected to compete with incumbent Sam Bradford (assuming the team doesn’t grant his request for a trade).
As for the Chicago Bears, they will be picking in the 11th spot in this year’s draft. The team picked seventh in 2015, where they selected wide receiver Kevin White out of the University of West Virginia. White didn’t play a single game for the Bears during the season, but he is healthy now and is expected to be a full participant in the team’s offseason workouts and training camp.
