Jake Long, Chris Long, Matt Ryan top NFL draft

Then things went a bit crazy.

From Michigan tackle Jake Long, who already had signed with the Miami Dolphins, to defensive end/linebacker Vernon Gholston going sixth to the New York Jets, there was an air of predictability to the proceedings. Unlike last year, when Notre Dame’s Brady Quinn had to wait hours to be chosen, the players on-hand hit the Radio City Music Hall stage quickly.

‘It’s great to see the green room empty,’ said Virginia defensive end Chris Long, who went second to St. Louis.

‘It’s a blessing to be here, they only ask six guys to come,’ Gholston added. ‘Funny how it worked out, teams made good selections.’

After St. Louis took the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Howie Long, Matt Ryan of Boston College, who could solve the quarterback problems in Atlanta, went to the Falcons.

Following a long-standing tradition, Oakland went for the gamebreaker in Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, prompting the fans to boo loudly. Many wanted the two-time Heisman Trophy runner-up to fall to the New York Jets at No. 6.

All-American defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey of national champion LSU was taken fifth overall by the Chiefs. Dorsey patted his heart as he held up a No. 1 Chiefs red jersey that was so small he, frankly, could never fit into it.

The Jets wound up with Gholston of Ohio State, who must now learn to play in the 3-4 alignment the team prefers.

At the seventh overall spot, the bartering began. Eight of the next 15 picks were involved in trades.

New Orleans moved up to No. 7 to get defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis of Southern California, who was recruited to the school by the Saints’ new defensive line coach, Ed Orgeron. New Orleans gave up the No. 10 overall spot to New England, and its third-round slot, and got a fifth-rounder along with the chance to take Ellis.

Then Jacksonville moved up from 26th overall to eighth, where it grabbed Florida DE Derrick Harvey. The Jaguars gave the Ravens four picks to get to that spot.

Everything moved at a good pace after the NFL cut the first round from 15 minutes per pick to 10. The first round took 3 hours, 30 minutes, a significant improvement over the five-hour marathons of previous years.

Jake Long became the first top overall pick from Michigan since Tom Harmon in 1941. He was accompanied by several family members onstage as he donned a Dolphins hat.

Then came another Long, who proudly held up a Rams jersey and pointed to the fans in the upper deck of the hall. Chris Long is the second straight defensive lineman selected in the opening round by St. Louis, following Nebraska’s Adam Carriker last year. Carriker likely will move to DT to open a spot for his new teammate.

Ryan has an open course to starting in Atlanta, with Michael Vick in jail on dogfighting charges, and only journeymen Chris Redman and Joey Harrington to compete with.

Cincinnati took USC linebacker Keith Rivers ninth, then the Patriots selected another linebacker, Jerod Mayo of Tennessee. Buffalo went for Troy CB Leodis McKelvin and Denver took Boise State tackle Ryan Clady.

Carolina, looking for a complement to DeAngelo Williams, selected Oregon running back Jonathan Stewart, then dealt with Philadelphia to get Pitt tackle Jeff Otah in the 19th position. The Panthers gave up next year’s first-rounder in that trade.

Chicago took Vanderbilt tackle Chris Williams for its spotty offensive line. Chris Long’s teammate, guard/tackle Branden Albert, went 15th to Kansas City after the Chiefs traded up with Detroit. Two slots later, tackle Gosder Cherilus of Boston College went to the Lions, prompting some in the audience to chant ‘FIRE MILLEN’ in reference to Lions president Matt Millen.

The first player from the former Division I-AA went 16th when Arizona selected CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie of Tennessee State. At No. 18, another small college guy was taken when Baltimore traded up to get quarterback Joe Flacco of Delaware with a pick Houston had owned.

After cornerback Aqib Talib, who reportedly tested positive for marijuana while at Kansas, was taken by Tampa Bay, the Falcons moved up to 21st overall. They chose Southern California tackle Sam Baker, son of Arena Football League commissioner David Baker, to help protect Ryan.

Dallas, which came into Saturday with two first-round picks, used No. 22 for McFadden’s backfield mate at Arkansas, Felix Jones, who also can return kicks. That began a run on runners, with Illinois’ Rashard Mendenhall going to Pittsburgh and speedy Chris Johnson of East Carolina taken by Tennessee at 24.

The Cowboys then traded up three spots with Seattle to get cornerback Mike Jenkins of South Florida, regarded by some as the best defensive back in the draft.

In all, 14 of the 31 first-round selections ‘ New England forfeited its own spot because of the Spygate scandal, but had a pick acquired last year from San Francisco ‘ were involved in trades. The Jets finished off the swapping by moving into Green Bay’s No. 30 slot for Purdue tight end Dustin Keller, bringing a chorus of boos.

The Giants took Kenny Phillips of Miami with the final pick of the opening round. Phillips was the only safety selected in the round.