NFL Draft 1st Round is Big

26 Apr, 2013

More than 2 1/2 tons of linemen, five trades, one quarterback and no Manti Te’o.

The first round of the NFL draft delivered an enormous portion of beef, with 18 teams devouring linemen from the opening pick of offensive tackle Eric Fisher by Kansas City to center Travis Frederick by Dallas at No. 31.

But perhaps the biggest story of the first round was Teo’s name not being called by Commissioner Roger Goodell during the 3-hour, 33-minute session Thursday night.

Te’o wasn’t the only big-name player who will have to wait until Friday’s second round. West Virginia’s Geno Smith was expected to be taken, but instead the only quarterback picked was Florida State’s EJ Manuel by Buffalo with the 16th spot, acquired in a trade with St. Louis. It was the lowest the first QB was taken since 2000, when Chad Pennington went 18th to the Jets.

The Bills, of course, are optimistic about Manuel.

Also left out in the first round were running backs – none was taken for the first time since 1963. Among running backs who could go in the second round are Eddie Lacy of Alabama and Montee Ball of Wisconsin. Other quarterbacks still waiting for their names to be called include USC’s Matt Barkley, Oklahoma’s Landry Jones and Syracuse’s Ryan Nassib.

This first round showed off the beef. The breakdown: nine offensive linemen, nine defensive linemen. Fisher became the first Mid-American Conference player selected at the top when Chiefs new coach Andy Reid chose the 6-foot-7, 306-pound offensive tackle.

“This is so surreal,” Fisher said. “I’m ready to get to work right now. I’m ready to start playing some football. I can’t process what’s going on right now.”

After Joeckel and Jordan were taken, it was BYU defensive end Ziggy Ansah to Detroit, LSU defensive end Barkevious Mingo to Cleveland, and North Carolina guard Jonathan Cooper to Arizona.

Fisher was only the third offensive tackle picked No. 1, joining Orlando Pace (1997) and Jake Long (2008) since the 1970 merger of the NFL and AFL. It’s also the first time since `70 that offensive tackles went 1-2.

NFL 2013 1st Round Draft picks

1. Kansas City Chiefs: Eric Fisher, offensive tackle, Central Michigan
2. Jacksonville Jaguars: Luke Joekel, offensive tackle, Texas A&M
3. Miami Dolphins: Dion Jordan, defensive end, Oregon (from Raiders)
4. Philadelphia Eagles: Lane Johnson, offensive tackle, Oklahoma
5. Detroit Lions: Ziggy Ansah, defensive end, BYU
6. Cleveland Browns: Barkevious Mingo, defensive end, LSU
7. Arizona Cardinals: Jonathan Cooper, offensive guard, North Carolina
8. St. Louis Rams: Tavon Austin, wide reciever, West Virginia (from Bills)
9. New York Jets: Dee Milliner, cornerback, Alabama
10. Tennessee Titans: Chance Warmack, offensive guard, Alabama
11. San Diego Chargers: DJ Fluker, offensive tackle, Alabama
12. Oakland Raiders: DJ Hayden, cornerback, Houston (from Dolphins)
13. New York Jets: Sheldon Richardson, defensive tackle, Missouri (from Buccaneers)
14. Carolina Panthers: Star Lotulelei, defensive tackle, Utah
15. New Orleans Saints: Kenny Vaccaro, safety, Texas
16. Buffalo Bills: EJ Emanuel, quarterback, Florida State
17. Pittsburgh Steelers: Jarvis Jones, outside linebacker, Georgia
18. San Fransisco 49ers: Eric Reid, free safety, LSU (from Cowboys)
19. New York Giants: Justin Pugh, offensive tackle, Syracuse
20. Chicago Bears: Kyle Long, offensive guard, Oregon
21. Cincinnati Bengals: Tyler Eifert, tight end, Notre Dame
22. Atlanta Falcons: Desmond Trufant, cornerback, Washington (From Redskins through Rams)
23. Minnesota Vikings: Sharrif Floyd, defensive tackle, Florida
24. Indianapolis Colts: Bjoern Werner, defensive end, Florida State
25: Minnesota Vikings: Xavier Rhodes, cornerback, Florida State (From Seahawks)
26. Green Bay Packers: Datone Jones, defensive end, UCLA
27. Houston Texans: DeAndre Hopkins, wide receiver, Clemson
28. Denver Broncos: Sylvester Williams, defensive tackle, North Carolina
29. Minnesota Vikings: Cordarrelle Patterson, wide receiver, Tennessee (from Patriots)
30: St. Louis Rams: Alec Ogletree, inside linebacker, Georgia (from Falcons)
31. Dallas Cowboys: Travis Frederick, corner, Wisconsin (from 49ers)
32. Baltimore Ravens: Mat Elam, free safety, Florida

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