Linemen dominate NFL draft

Published 10:31 pm Saturday, April 26, 2008

NEW YORK — The picks came fast and furious and the surprises were relatively mild on the opening day of the NFL draft. The consolation prize went to University of Virginia defensive end Chris Long, who was chosen by the St. Louis Rams with the second overall selection soon after the proceedings got underway Saturday afternoon at Radio City Music Hall.

The opening pick was anticlimactic, having been decided five days before the draft when the Miami Dolphins signed Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long to a contract Tuesday. Once the formality of the Dolphins’ selection of Jake Long had been announced Saturday, the Rams grabbed Chris Long and the Atlanta Falcons made quarterback Matt Ryan of Boston College the third overall pick.

The rest of the first round was dominated by linemen. Seven offensive tackles were taken in the draft’s first 21 picks, and eight in the first round. Seven defensive linemen were selected in the opening round. There also were the expected first-round runs on tailbacks and cornerbacks, with five each. The most welcome development for league officials, however, was that the first round was completed in 3 1/2 hours, making it the quickest opening round since 1990.

“I take that as a sign of improvement,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who shortened the time limit for picks in the first two rounds after last year’s 6-hour, 8-minute opening round, said from the podium.

But the day belonged to Chris Long, given that the Dolphins’ choice of Jake Long had come so far in advance of the draft. The Rams were thought to be torn between Chris Long and Louisiana State defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey. They went with Long, perhaps the best pass rusher in the draft.

“It was a huge adrenaline rush,” Chris Long said, having added a Rams cap to a draft day ensemble that included an orange tie for his school. “Best moment of my life. … I’ll try to go in and learn from the veterans and be worth the pick. I’m very humbled by it. It’s just great to be part of an organization. I want to get to work. … It’s exciting. It means I have a lot to learn and a lot to prove.”

Long was accompanied backstage by his father Howie, the former Hall of Famer for the Oakland Raiders who now is a broadcaster on Fox’s NFL studio show.

“He was very nervous,” Chris Long said. “He was more nervous than me.”

The elder Long has tried to stay out of the spotlight when it has come to his son’s career, and he mostly remained in the background Saturday as he struggled to put into words the emotions he was feeling.

“I’m not sure,” Howie Long said. “I don’t think it’s really sunk in yet. We’re somewhat relieved, excited. It’s a rainbow of emotions. You know you’re alive. … The only thing I’ve ever said to Chris, honest to God, is to, ‘Be you. You do that well.’ Like him or don’t like him, he’s him.”

He said he was happy to see his son go to an organization that wanted him, but made it clear that he hadn’t changed his own NFL allegiance. “I’m a Raider,” he said.

The comparisons will be inevitable, and Howie Long was asked to make one on draft day. “He’s light years ahead of me in terms of maturity,” he said. “He’s probably mentally tougher than I was at that age. He has a great sense of the moment. I was kind of day-to-day. Of course, I was making 38 grand. So I was day-to-day.”

Chris Long at least will go to St. Louis with some experience being in an NFL locker room, even if that experience dates back to his childhood.

“Yeah, I’ve been in NFL locker rooms,” he said. But “they were Raider locker rooms, so I guess that means they were a little different.”

Best of all, both father and son had survived the whirlwind of the draft process. “I don’t even know what day it is,” Chris Long said.

The Falcons could have taken Dorsey with the third pick. Some NFL teams were wary that Ryan threw 19 interceptions last season at Boston College. But he also threw 31 touchdown passes last season and had a 25-7 career record as a starter in college, and the Falcons gave themselves a potential franchise quarterback to replace Michael Vick.

“I thought they would consider taking me, and I’m happy they did,” Ryan said. “You never know what’s going to happen going through the process. I was really happy to get that phone call.”

With Vick serving a 23-month federal prison sentence for his role in a dogfighting operation and on indefinite suspension by the NFL, Ryan perhaps could quickly move ahead of holdover quarterbacks Joey Harrington and Chris Redman to become the starter in Atlanta. He also could become the face of the embattled franchise.

“I can’t worry about it,” Ryan said. “I just have to go down there and make sure I’m doing everything I can to succeed.”

Arkansas tailback Darren McFadden went fourth to the Raiders, giving them a potentially dynamic young runner to go with developing quarterback JaMarcus Russell, the top overall selection in last year’s draft. McFadden said he began the day figuring he would go fourth to the Raiders or sixth to the New York Jets.

“Going number four, it’s a great feeling,” McFadden said. “There’s no disappointment. … They said they’re looking for a big playmaker in their offense, and hopefully that’s what I can give them. … With two young guys in the backfield, it’ll be a great thing.”

McFadden has said he thinks he can duplicate the exploits of Adrian Peterson, the tailback who was the seventh overall choice in last year’s draft and had a dominating rookie season for the Minnesota Vikings. McFadden had spent the pre-draft process answering teams’ concerns about character issues, some arising from an incident in January in which he was handcuffed by police after a disturbance at a Little Rock piano bar but released without any charges.

“It was a long, grueling process,” McFadden said Saturday. “You have to go through it. I’m just very happy that it’s over now.”

Dorsey stayed in the top five, going fifth to Kansas City on the first of the Chiefs’ two first-round picks. They also got Virginia guard Branden Albert, projected as a left tackle in the NFL, with the 15th choice.

“I told myself I wasn’t gonna cry,” Dorsey said. “But the tears just start coming. You can’t control that. … I’m just excited to get to Kansas City and get to work. … I feel like the best player, just like everybody else feels like the best player. I didn’t come here with any expectations. It’s tricky. Nobody can predict it.”