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THE WAR ROOM — Thursday was NFL draft day, which made it a national holiday — or at least a holiday in some local populations.
Here are a few highlights from the draft, which saw Cal quarterback Jared Goff go No. 1 overall to the newly moved Los Angeles Rams and North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz selected No. 1 by Philadelphia.
Zeke Elliott’s fashion is on fleek
In case you missed the memo, the 2016 NFL draft kicked off Thursday evening in Chicago with the first round. Rounds 2-3 will be broadcast Friday, followed by the remaining rounds all day Saturday in the three-day event featuring players who may or may not make an impact in the league next year.
But the best part about having a round all to itself? The red carpet.
And former Ohio State standout Ezekial Elliott made good use of it.
Elliott, a Heisman Trophy finalist who helped the Buckeyes to the all-time winningest college football program over four years, showed up to the draft wearing a suit.
Or at least, half a suit.
.@EzekielElliott just made a huge fashion statement on the #NFLDraft red carpet. pic.twitter.com/VnriVFDz6s
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) April 28, 2016
For a closer look:
Hero in a half shirt, indeed. pic.twitter.com/mQYpu1VtOr
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 28, 2016
Of course, Elliott was probably just trying to match his college uniform.
Ezekiel Elliott is no stranger to the end zone in Dallas. He won the national championship in Arlington in 2015. pic.twitter.com/m419o95s8i
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 29, 2016
Naturally, there were plenty of jokes about his outfit, too.
Stiff-arming that old crop-top rule. https://t.co/fFpy9nGez6
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) April 28, 2016
Oh, hey Zeke Elliott's abs (via @ChicagoBears)https://t.co/gdni7aQnT1pic.twitter.com/LftkUBDPsL
— SB✯Nation CFB (@SBNationCFB) April 28, 2016
Of course, Elliott — who was selected No. 4 overall by the Dallas Cowboys — wasn’t the only player making interesting fashion choices Thursday night.
Who’s shoes are those?
Former Ole Miss lineman Laremy Tunsil showed off his kicks before the first round.
But they weren’t a snazzy pair of dress shoes, or even throwback Chuck Taylors.
Laremy Tunsil...WHAT ARE THOSE? pic.twitter.com/UeqBb3L4yx
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 28, 2016
For those looking to rock the Tunsil style, those are Dandy Pik Pik loafers by Christian Louboutin, and don’t worry: they won’t quite run you $2,000.
Of course, that wasn’t Tunsil’s biggest mistake on draft day. About 10 minutes before the draft, video surfaced from his Twitter account that appears to show someone looking like Tunsil smoking marijuana through a gas mask.
Posting this was pretty dumb though pic.twitter.com/wIf69QupOo
— Joe Davis (@ByJoeDavis) April 29, 2016
Tunsil (or someone in Tunsil’s camp) quickly deleted the tweet, but not before the damage was done. ESPN confirmed that every NFL team had seen the video, and Tunsil reinstated his account to apologize for the incident, then promptly deleted his account again.
The 6-foot-5, 315-pound Tunsil dropped to the No. 13 overall pick, where he was available for the Miami Dolphins, keeping him as a first-round pick. After his selection, Tunsil appeared to admit to receiving improper benefits at Ole Miss, a situation that caused an NFL representative to usher him off stage during his post-selection press conference.
“It was a huge mistake,” Tunsil said during the press conference. “Things happen. I can’t control (people) getting in my phone and hacking my Instagram and my Twitter.”
Tunsil's NFL career is just beginning. But so is this story.
David Beckham in silver and black
Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis was not in Chicago early Thursday morning.
That’s because the son of the late Raiders founder Al Davis was attending a meeting with the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee to potentially relocate his franchise to Las Vegas.
And he wasn’t the only one, either.
Mark Davis and David Beckham are both at this SNTIC meeting #rjnow#raiders#lasvegaspic.twitter.com/Pl01CXl8Wz
— Brett Le Blanc (@bleblancphoto) April 28, 2016
(That’s former soccer star David Beckham next to Mark Davis on the left, by the way.)
Beckham was in attendance to voice his support for the Raiders’ move to Las Vegas, and also to create speculation that the all-everything former England international could bring Major League Soccer to southern Nevada, as well.
But as for the Raiders, Davis said discussions with Sin City are more than a bargaining chip.
“We have made a commitment to Las Vegas at this point in time, and that’s where it stands,” Davis told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We’re not using Las Vegas as a bargaining chip. I would never do that. This is real.”