How absurd was the Tyson Alualu selection in 2010? A look back at 2010 mock drafts

Tyson Alualu has been a solid player for the Jaguars. Nothing great or flashy, but he's a consistent player who never misses a tackle, is a hard worker and is pretty good defending the run. However, when Tyson Alualu was selected with the tenth overall pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars, especially with Tim Tebow on the board, the general consensus was, "Tyson Alu-who?" The pick shocked seemingly everyone. Nobody saw it coming, and even in threads that I've read on here, I've seen many people call it the most shocking draft decision of all-time.

I remember when he got drafted, and my jaw was dropped open. It was a combination of expecting the Jags to draft Tim Tebow and the fact that I genuinely had no idea who this guy was. The first thing I did after I picked my jaw up off the floor was Google who he was, something you're not supposed to have to do with a top 10 overall pick. Now, he's played alright for the Jags; he was the only Jaguar of the Gene Smith era to receive a second contract (although we may have 2 more in Bryan Anger and Andre Branch), but he's played more like a second rounder. Fair enough, considering he was evaluated as a second rounder; nobody had him going at #10, and it's not Tyson's fault that he got picked there.

So, 5 years later, did anyone see this coming? I've looked up a handful of mock drafts from 2010. Here's what I've found:

• Peter King [Sports Illustrated]: No mention of Tyson Alualu in the first round. http://www.si.com/more-sports/2010/04/21/mock-draft

• Fox Sports: 7 round mock draft. Tyson Alualu goes 48TH to Carolina. http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2010/04/19/nfl-mock-draft-rounds/

• Walter Football: 7 round mock draft. Tyson Alualu goes 53RD to New England. http://walterfootball.com/draft2010_2.php

• Mel Kiper Jr. [ESPN]: No Tyson Alualu in the first round.

• MyNFLDraft.com: No Tyson Alualu in the first round. http://www.mynfldraft.com/NFL-Mock-Draft-2010

• Pat Kirwan [NFL.com]: No Tyson Alualu in the first round. For some reason, the links to the second and third round of that mock draft are broken. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d81797479/article/threeround-mock-expect-most-interesting-draft-in-years

• PastaPadre: 2 round mock draft. Tyson Alualu goes 57TH to Baltimore Ravens. http://www.pastapadre.com/2010/04/21/nfl-two-round-mock-draft-final

• Turf Show Times [SB Nation of the St. Louis Rams]: Tyson Alualu goes 81ST to Houston Texans in the 3rd round. http://www.turfshowtimes.com/2010/3/22/1363578/3ks-2010-mock-draft-v4-0-march-22nd

• Rick Gosselin [Dallas Morning News]: No Tyson Alualu in the first round. http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/dallas-cowboys/headlines/20100421-Rick-Gosselin-s-final-mock-draft-6336.ece

• Heath's World: No Tyson Alualu in the first round. https://heathsworld.wordpress.com/2010/04/22/nfl-mock-draft-2-0-final-prediction/

• ChiCitySportsFan: No Tyson Alualu in the first round. http://chicitysportsfan.com/wp/2010/04/2010-nfl-mock-draft/

• Ian O'Brien [Bleacher Report]: No Tyson Alualu in the first round. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/382260-final-2010-nfl-mock-draft

• DraftNasty.com: No Tyson Alualu in the first round. http://www.draftnasty.com/football_content/blogs/corey/2010-draftnasty-1st-round-mock-draft-version-1/

• Michael Perry [OTR Sports]: No Tyson Alualu in the first round. http://offtherecordsports.com/2010/04/12/otrs-2010-nfl-mock-draft-2-0/

• Silver & Black Pride [SB Nation for Oakland Raiders]: No Tyson Alualu in the first round. http://www.silverandblackpride.com/2010/4/3/1402903/ka1z3rs-official-nfl-mock-draft

• Sammy Crano [The Fantasy Geek]: No Tyson Alualu in the first round. http://thefantasygeek.com/?p=2049

• Daniel Cox [Examiner.com]: No Tyson Alualu in the first round. http://www.examiner.com/article/2010-nfl-mock-draft-version-2-with-an-atlanta-falcons-lean

• Stuart Power [Bleacher Report]: 2 round mock draft. No Tyson Alualu in either round. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/309708-jake-lockers-choice-to-return-to-school-will-help-colt-mccoy

This wasn't cherry-picking. This was called "using the Google search tools to filter between 1/1/2010 and 5/1/2010 and picking the first five pages of links that still worked." Nobody had him going in the first round, and in the end, he winds up going at #10 out of nowhere. If anyone else can find any other links to add to the absurdity of this, be my guest.