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The first round of the 2011 NFL Draft is now history. The second and third rounds will take place on Friday night, but let's take a look back at the picks from Thursday night before we start shifting our focus completely toward tonight. After the jump is a rundown of the first-round 2011 NFL Draft results.
Team | Pick | |
1 | Carolina Panthers | Cam Newton, Auburn QB |
2 | Denver Broncos | Von Miller, Texas A&M LB |
3 | Buffalo Bills | Marcell Dareus, Alabama DL |
4 | Cincinnati Bengals | A.J. Green, Georgia WR |
5 | Arizona Cardinals | Patrick Peterson, LSU CB |
6 | Atlanta Falcons | Julio Jones, Alabama WR |
7 | San Francisco 49ers | Aldon Smith, Missouri DE |
8 | Tennessee Titans | Jake Locker, Washington QB |
9 | Dallas Cowboys | Tyron Smith, USC OT |
10 | Jacksonville Jaguars | Blaine Gabbert, Missouri QB |
11 | Houston Texans | J.J. Watt, Wisconsin DE |
12 | Minnesota Vikings | Christian Ponder, FSU QB |
13 | Detroit Lions | Nick Fairley, Auburn DT |
14 | St. Louis Rams | Robert Quinn, UNC DE |
15 | Miami Dolphins | Mike Pouncey, Florida OL |
16 | Washington Redskins | Ryan Kerrigan, Purdue DE |
17 | New England Patriots | Nate Solder, Colorado OL |
18 | San Diego Chargers | Corey Liuget, Illinois DT |
19 | New York Giants | Prince Amukamara, Nebraska CB |
20 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Adrian Clayborn, Iowa DE |
21 | Cleveland Browns | Phil Taylor, Baylor DT |
22 | Indianapolis Colts | Anthony Castonzo, Boston College OT |
23 | Philadelphia Eagles | Danny Watkins, Baylor OL |
24 | New Orleans Saints | Cameron Jordan, Cal DE |
25 | Seattle Seahawks | James Carpenter, Alabama OL |
26 | Kansas City Chiefs | Jonathan Baldwin, Pitt WR |
27 | Baltimore Ravens | Jimmy Smith, Colorado CB |
28 | New Orleans Saints | Mark Ingram, Alabama RB |
29 | Chicago Bears | Gabe Carimi, Wisconsin OT |
30 | New York Jets | Muhammad Wilkerson, Temple DT |
31 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Cam Heyward, Ohio State DL |
32 | Green Bay Packers | Derek Sherrod, Mississippi State OT |
Just based on the first round, I think I have to give the Saints the most impressive draft so far. Of course, that is mainly because they ended up with two first-round picks, but I really like the value they got with Cameron Jordan and Mark Ingram. This isn't a team lacking talent by any means, but they managed to go out and add two impressive players already.
Of course, I also like what the Detroit Lions did as well. Some have called getting Nick Fairley the steal of the first round, and considering he was viewed as a top five pick by some, I can't necessarily disagree with that mindset.
Aside from the Fairley pick, what was your favorite selection in the first round?
For more coverage of the 2011 NFL Draft (i.e. NFL mock drafts, draft projections, scouting reports, the full NFL Draft schedule, etc.), check out Mocking The Draft, SB Nation's NFL Draft hub, SB Nation Detroit's NFL Draft StoryStream and Pride Of Detroit's 2011 NFL Draft archive.