Jake Long officially became a Miami Dolphin to kick-off a busy opening day of the NFL draft at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

The offensive tackle from the University of Michigan was certain to be heading to the franchise having already agreed a five-year, $57 million contract.

He becomes the first offensive lineman to be the number one pick since Orlando Pace was selected by the St Louis Rams in 1997 and just the third overall.

“I want to go in there and work hard every day,” Long said. “I want to show the leadership that I had in college with great work ethic. I’ll lead by example.

“I’m so excited this is done. I’ll go out there and do everything I can to help this team win.”

Teams were allowed only 10 minutes to make their selection in the first round this year, making for some frantic action and plenty of first-day trades.

The Rams decided to stay where they were in the order and wasted little time in taking Virginia’s Chris Long, son of NFL Hall-of-Famer Howie Long, at number two.

Matt Ryan became the first quarterback to be drafted when Atlanta selected him at three, quickly followed by the Oakland Raiders opting for Arkansas running back Darren McFadden.

Kansas City rounded out the top five with defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey. They also engineered their way back into the first round at number 15, where they took offensive guard Branden Albert.

Trades

The New Orleans Saints became the first team to change the original order, trading the 10th slot to the New England Patriots so they could take defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis at seven.

New England claimed Jerod Mayo in their new position, the only linebacker to be taken in the first 31 selections.

Jacksonville quickly followed the Saints’ lead by making a major leap to the eighth pick to get their hands on Florida defensive end Derrick Harvey.

Baltimore, who had dropped back in the deal with the Jaguars, eventually wound up with the 18th pick where they took quarterback Joe Flacco from Delaware University.

Cornerbacks and tailbacks dominated from then on, while for the first time since 1990 there was not a single wide receiver taken in the opening round.

Reigning Super Bowl champions the New York Giants completed the first round by taking safety Kenny Phillips at 31.

The second round also took place on Saturday, with teams only given five minutes on the clock, with the final five rounds on Sunday.

NFL 2008 Draft - first round:
1 Miami Dolphins - Jake Long (Michigan)
2 St. Louis Rams - Chris Long (Virginia)
3 Atlanta Falcons - Matt Ryan (Boston College)
4 Oakland Raiders - Darren McFadden (Arkansas)
5 Kansas City Chiefs - Glenn Dorsey (Louisiana State)
6 New York Jets - Vernon Gholston (Ohio State)
7 New Orleans Saints (trade with New England) - Sedrick Ellis (Southern California)
8 Jacksonville Jaguars (trade with Baltimore) - Derrick Harvey (Florida)
9 Cincinnati Bengals - Keith Rivers (Southern California)
10 New England Patriots (trade with New Orleans) - Jerod Mayo (Tennessee)
11 Buffalo Bills - Leodis McKelvin (Troy)
12 Denver Broncos - Ryan Clady (Boise State)
13 Carolina Panthers, Jonathan Stewart (Oregon)
14 Chicago Bears - Chris Williams (Vanderbilt)
15 Kansas City Chiefs (trade with Detroit Lions) - Branden Albert (Virginia)
16 Arizona Cardinals, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (Tennessee State)
17 Detroit Lions (trade with Kansas City) - Gosder Cherilus (Boston College)
18 Baltimore Ravens (trade with Houston) - Joe Flacco (Delaware)
19 Carolina Panthers (trade with Philadelphia) - Jeff Otah (Pittsburgh)
20 Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Aqib Talib (Kansas)
21 Atlanta Falcons (trade with Washington) - Sam Baker (Southern California)
22 Dallas Cowboys (trade with Cleveland) - Felix Jones (Arkansas)
23 Pittsburgh Steelers - Rashard Mendenhall (Illinois)
24 Tennessee Titans - Chris Johnson (East Carolina)
25 Dallas Cowboys (trade with Seattle) - Mike Jenkins (South Florida)
26 Houston Texas (trade with Baltimore) - Duane Brown (Virginia Tech)
27 San Diego Chargers - Antoine Cason (Arizona)
28 Seattle Seahawks (trade with Dallas) - Lawrence Jackson (Southern California)
29 San Francisco 49ers (trade with Indianapolis) - Kentwan Balmer (North Carolina)
30 New York Jets (trade with Green Bay) - Dustin Keller (Purdue)
31 New York Giants - Kenny Phillips (Miami)

Ref: www.skysports.com