Laremy Tunsil's Draft-Day Slide Shows Brutality of Teams' Expectations

CHICAGO — Laremy Tunsil was in the green room here, waiting. Then came the video. Then came one of the craziest draft nights in history.

The video dropped on Twitter around 6:55 p.m. CDT, some 13 minutes before the start of the draft. The free fall began.     

At one point some months ago, Tunsil was so good that many personnel men believed he was the possible first pick in the entire draft. But as the draft process droned on and more chunks were taken out of his stock for a variety of reasons, he slipped slightly.

Then came that damn video.

It showed Tunsil smoking marijuana in a gas mask. As an Army veteran, I don't remember the drill sergeants teaching us to use gas masks that way, but hey, to each their own.

The NFL Network's Aditi Kinkhabwala reported that the Ravens, who were picking sixth, took Tunsil off their board entirely. DraftInsider's Tony Pauline later learned they were prepared to take him. Before that damn video. 

Two other teams told me that while Tunsil was not removed from their boards, the video did have a massive impact. Sources on both teams said they were taken aback.

"A couple of us gathered around one guy's laptop and watched it," one team personnel executive said. "We all thought, 'Why would you let someone tape you doing that?'"

One general manager said in a text to me: "It's not just that [Tunsil] is smoking weed, it's that you don't know what's coming next with him."

He didn't reveal if his team removed Tunsil from its board, or if he was moved down the board.

But the point is, the weed wasn't the problem. Well, it's a problem, but large swaths of players smoke it, and teams know this. They do worry whether a guy they take that high in the first round will end up with repeated suspensions like Josh Gordon. But again, weed is not the main issue.

The issue is teams got nervous because there was a feeling something else might happen. It's not the video itself; it's that it appeared on the day of the draft. Teams hate surprises. 

And you know what? They were right. A copy of an alleged Instagram conversation between Tunsil and athletic department officials at Mississippi appeared next. At his press conference, after he was selected by the Dolphins at No. 13 overall, Tunsil, seeming to be out of effs to give, was asked point-blank if he took cash from a coach.

"I'd have to say yeah," he said.

Oh. Oh, wow.

Tunsil said his Twitter account was hacked. He said his Instagram account was hacked. His password must be 1234.

There is so much to unpack here. First, whoever is doing this to Tunsil is a dirtbag, a massive one. It's despicable. It's awful. Tunsil doesn't deserve this.

Second, this episode again brings the NFL's flawed marijuana policy into the spotlight. The NFL still punishes, in a highly draconian manner, something that's legal in several states, is authorized medicinally in others and overall in the nation is trending toward general acceptance. It's weed, not crack.

Lastly, the incident shows just how brutal the draft can be.

Tunsil waited for this moment his entire life, and because of some social media tomfoolery, it all went up in smoke. Sure, he was drafted, and yes, don't allow yourself to be taped smoking a gas bong device, but that fall was brutal and costly.

The main message I heard while speaking with teams was how unfair—and they admit this—the entire process is. Players have to be squeaky clean, so absurdly squeaky clean, that's it's almost impossible to do.

"We are asking these players to be something that's impossible for the rest of us," one general manager said. "And that's be flawless."

This is the life these players choose, but the high-profile nature of the draft now amplifies every crack in the armor—and magnifies it by a factor of 10 billion. They are young people, doing young people things and paying a hefty price. Maybe too hefty. Again, teams acknowledge this, but they also say: Too bad.

It's so bad now, draftees even have to guard their passwords from garbage humans looking to sabotage their futures.

Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

The good news for Tunsil is that after all of this happened, he got drafted, then he stood there and answered every question from the media. He was honest and open.

It's possible we may look back at this as one of the great comeback stories in draft history. But for now, it's just a symbol of how much draft picks have to be almost...perfect.

Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report.