NFL Draft bad memories: Laremy Tunsil's gas mask, Bucs' wrong pick and food poisoning

The first round of the NFL Draft is Christmas morning for pro football fans. They can't wait to help unwrap the presentstheir favorite team has received, hoping and praying Santa did not forget them or put a lump of coal on that roster.

Truth be told, it's a great day(s) for those of us who have covered the National Football League - even when the team you report on traditionally does awful on draft day.

Every player selected is a "terrific pick" and brings "speed" or a "great motor" or an "incredible arm" to their new team. Oh, if that were so true. Hard as it may seem to believe, more than half of first-round selections fail to live up to expectations (and their rookie contracts) despite all the research put into those athletes.

But what piques the interest of the media on draft day are the stories behind the scenes. Here are some of my favorites:

How did Warren Sapp fall so fast, so far in 1995 NFL Draft?

Warren Sapp is a Hall of Fame member and was instrumental in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' first Super Bowl championship. But the day he was drafted in 1995 was forgettable for the former Miami Hurricane standout.

Sapp was projected as a top 5 overall pick by everyone heading into draft week, but his stock started dropping on the eve of the draft when a report came out that he failed multiple cocaine and marijuana tests. Picks kept being made in the first round and Sapp's name remained on the board - until the Bucs, who had traded down, selected him at No. 12. The NFL eventually released a statement strongly denying the rumors but the damage had been done.

When he arrived at One Buc Place the day after his selection, Sapp, who believed someone tried to sabotage his draft standing, was an angry young man. He was ready to lash out at the media since numerous outlets reported the story. One local reporter quickly told Sapp that none of the people in that room were responsible for the leaked story but he didn't care. Thus began an testy relationship with Sapp.

Imagine what it would have been like if today's internet and social media had been around back then.

Laremy Tunsil and the gas mask photo in 2016 NFL Draft

Which brings us to a player who was drafted during the internet/social media era - Mississippi offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil, selected by the Dolphins 13th overall in 2016.

Right before the draft started, a video of Tunsil smoking marijuana out of a gas mask bong surfaced online. He later told Deion Sanders that somebody hacked his account and posted the video. While Tunsil still was selected in the first round, he lost millions. The Baltimore Ravens reportedly were going to make him the sixth overall pick. That would have meant about $7 million more in his rookie contract.

Of course, all has worked out well for Tunsil, who was traded to Houston in 2019. He's now one of the highest paid offensive tackles in the NFL after signing a 3-year, $75 million deal in 2023.

Bucs picked the wrong player in the 1982 NFL Draft

The draft process seems so simple: Team's front-office personnel make the selection at their complex, phone it in to their representative at the draft site (Detroit this year), rep writes down the name and hands it to an NFL rep and that person gives it to the commissioner who makes the announcement, "With the first selection of the first round, the Chicago Bears select ..."

But when it came to the Bucs of the old days, nothing was ever easy.

In 1982, Tampa Bay somehow selected the wrong player in the first round. Here is how it happened.

The Bucs wanted Bethune-Cookman defensive end Booker Reese with their top pick. However, there was miscommunication between those at One Buc Place in Tampa and New York's Radio City Music Hall and the Bucs turned in Penn State guard Sean Farrell for that first pick. Quickly realizing their mistake, the Bucs decided to take Reese in the second round. But they did not have a second-round pick and ended up trading their first pick in the 1983 draft to the Bears so they could take Reese with the 32nd pick overall.

Of course, in typical Bucs fashion, Farrell became a steady presence on the offensive line for a decade, Reese was a bust - and should be on any all-time Top 10 NFL Bust List. That first-round pick in 1983 (sixth overall) now owned by Chicago turned out to be Pittsburgh offensive tackle Jimbo Covert. He started all 16 games as a rookie, helping Walter Payton rush for 1,421 yards, and went on to a very good pro career.

I should not have eaten that dip

I covered the Bucs during most of the 1990s, and many drafts before and after those years. I always enjoyed draft day - even if Warren Sapp was not answering my questions. But there was one year - the exact date is blocked from my memory - when things did not go so swell.

One of the reasons the media loves covering the draft is that there is always food around - tables full of sandwiches, salads, chips and dips and even dessert. Back in the good ol' days, the draft started much earlier so you actually could have breakfast, lunch and dinner.

More on the NFL Draft: Look at all the teams (including the Dolphins?) who want FSU's Jared Verse now

However, sometimes that food sat out for a very long time and - you know where this is going - the dip that was placed on the table in the morning was still there at night. But you don't care - you see chips and dip and you keep eating it between cranking out draft stories.

Returning home that night I did not feel well and attributed it to a long day. Waking up an hour later and heading for the toilet - and spending most of the night hugging the commode - proved otherwise. I swore to never have chips and dip again while covering the second day making frequent trips to the bathroom.

Let's hope your favorite NFL team has better fortune this week.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: NFL Draft horror stories include Warren Sapp, Laremy Tunsil