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UNDATED (AP) — The first round of the NFL draft opened and closed with players from the Southeastern Conference. It was a fitting way to mark the league’s record-setting night. The football powerhouse had 15 players selected in the first round. That smashed the previous mark of 12 set by the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2006 and matched by the SEC in 2013 and 2017. The SEC's crop was flush with players from Alabama, which had four, and LSU, with five. The league fell one short of having as many players drafted in the first round as the rest of college football combined.
CINCINNATI (AP) — Joe Burrow is already popular in Ohio, where he became a prep star and played at Ohio State. He gets a chance to return home and try to salvage the Cincinnati Bengals, who took him with the first overall pick in the NFL draft. Burrow won the Heisman Trophy and a national title at LSU. His next challenge is to help turn around a franchise that has only had seven winning seasons in the last 29 years and hasn't won a playoff game since the 1990 season.
MIAMI (AP) — The Miami Dolphins have decided to gamble on Tua Tagovailoa’s durability and made the Alabama quarterback the fifth overall pick in the NFL draft. The Dolphins hope Tagovailoa can become a franchise quarterback and the centerpiece of their rebuilding effort that began a year ago. The Dolphins added some potential protection for Tagovailoa with the 18th overall pick, selecting 322-pound left tackle Austin Jackson of Southern California. Miami also had the 30th overall pick and took Auburn cornerback Noah Igbinoghene, the son of two Nigerian Olympic track athletes.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans believe they have drafted a player that will make Derrick Henry and Ryan Tannehill very happy. The Titans added an offensive tackle Thursday night that general manager Jon Robinson says reminds him of late wrestler Andre the Giant. The Titans picked Isaiah Wilson out of Georgia at No. 29 overall, taking the 6-foot-6, 350-pound lineman to bulk up protection for both Henry and Tannehill. The Titans lost Jack Conklin, an All Pro as a rookie, to Cleveland as a free agent in March.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs wrapped up the first round of the NFL draft when the Super Bowl champions picked LSU running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire with the 32nd overall selection. The Chiefs were long rumored to have interest in trading down since they have just five selections during the three-day draft. The Chiefs wound up having their pick of running backs after none had been taken in the first round. Edwards-Helaire was picked because of the way his game fits the Chiefs' scheme, particularly his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield.
UNDATED (AP) — The Las Vegas Raiders have drafted speedy Alabama receiver Henry Ruggs with the 12th pick in the NFL draft. The move to take Ruggs gives the Raiders the dynamic receiver they had hoped they had acquired a year ago when they traded for Antonio Brown, only to cut him before he ever played a game for the team. The Raiders had their choice of receivers and went for the fastest one instead of players who were more prolific in college like Ruggs’ teammate at Alabama, Jerry Jeudy, or Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb. The Raiders then took Ohio State cornerback Damon Arnette with the 19th pick.
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — The Baltimore Ravens got a potential starter in the middle of their defense by selecting linebacker Patrick Queen out of LSU with the 28th overall pick in the NFL draft. Queen had 85 tackles, three sacks and an interception to help the Tigers win the national championship. He left LSU after his junior season and ends up with the Ravens, playing the same position that Ray Lewis filled for 17 seasons during a Hall of Fame career.
UNDATED (AP) — The Jacksonville Jaguars used the first round of the NFL draft to land replacements for two of their best _ and most disgruntled _ defenders. The Jaguars chose speedy Florida cornerback CJ Henderson with the ninth pick and versatile LSU pass-rusher K’Lavon Chaisson with the 20th selection. Henderson is expected to fill a void created when the Jaguars traded Jalen Ramsey to the Los Angeles Rams last October. Chaisson should allow Jacksonville to trade defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. Henderson and Chaisson make it four consecutive years that Jacksonville used its top two picks on players from the powerhouse Southeastern Conference.
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