Last night was the first round of the NFL Draft, and it wasn't the most "exciting" one to date. I didn't get to watch it, as I was at a concert, but I have taken a look at which teams got who. I'm going to do a brief overview of what happened, a few trends I've noticed, and an interesting (and pleasing) surprise. Let's take a look:

This NFL Draft had one of the fewest total number of offensive skill positions taken in the first round that I can remember at five. Quarterbacks, usually a hot commodity in any draft, only saw one taken in the first round. Although the QB stock was weaker this year than in years previous, it's still interesting to note that only one was taken, and not even the one that everyone expected to go. Even more surprising was the fact that not a single running back was taken, even though it seemed like Eddie Lacy out of Alabama was raring for the first round. That being said, I think it's a sign of the times, as most teams have a feature back and a decent quarterback to lead them. Instead, most teams opted for offensive linemen or defensive players, and this is pretty crucial because there were a lot of teams that needed holes patched on both sides of the ball.

First, I want to take a look at the college teams' contributions to the NFL this first round, and as expected, Alabama led the pack with three players that actually went back to back to back. A little more surprising was Florida State's three, although two of them were expected to go in the first round and one was thought to be a potential second or third-round pick. The rest of the teams had either two or one, obviously. Taking a look at conferences, the Southeastern Conference had 12 players go in the first round, with the Atlantic Coast Conference offering 6 players. To me, this further exhibits the SEC dominance over college football that has been so prevalent in recent years, and though it won't do this, I believe it should end the debate.

Moving on to the players in the draft, I'm not going to analyze every player or every situation because it's time consuming, and quite frankly, I'm not interested in some of it. However, there are a few picks that I think are noteworthy, and I'm going to tell you about them:

1. Eric Fisher out of Central Michigan goes to the Kansas City Chiefs. It was no surprise that KC was going to get an offensive tackle, as their offensive line was abysmal last year. Even Jamaal Charles, the beast that he is, could not come to his true form because they just couldn't block. And it didn't help that none of their 650 quarterbacks could play the game, either. That's why they got the first pick in the draft, and that's why they picked up Eric Fisher, who should be able to help Alex Smith transition into the KC offense some.

3. Dion Jordan out of Oregon goes to the Miami Dolphins. This one was a surprise, as everyone was pretty much betting one one of the two Georgia linebackers going before Jordan. Not only that, but the expectation was that Miami would need an offensive lineman, and when they traded up, everyone expected them to grab a tackle. Instead, they got a pretty speedy linebacker, an excellent pass rusher and a valuable asset to the defense. Whether or not he'll outplay the Georgia boys, though, remains to be seen.

8. Tavon Austin out of West Virginia goes to the Saint Louis Rams. Boy, after trading up with the Bills, did Saint Louis pick up a weapon, or what? Tavon Austin is an absolute beast of a wide receiver, breaking a couple of West Virginia records and topping the charts in the entire NCAA. His animal-like play will be just what Jeff Fischer and Sam Bradford need to pick up some steam on offense, now that Steven Jackson darted for Atlanta.

9. Dee Milliner of Alabama goes to the New York Jets. The latest Alabama boy to join the fiasco that is the New York Jets, Dee Milliner comes to replace veteran corner Darrelle Revis, who took an absolute beast of a deal over in Tampa Bay. Milliner was excellent in college and, if the Jets don't screw it up with him (which, considering the way they are handling the Tebow situation still, isn't likely), should contribute right away and have a lasting impact on that organization.

16. E.J. Manuel of Florida State goes to the Buffalo Bills. This is my big surprise of the day, not because Buffalo grabbed a quarterback, but because they first traded down and then got a quarterback. Right before the draft started, I read an article stating that Buffalo was worried that someone before them would grab their first choice at quarterback, and when I come back on, they had traded down to 16 and still got him. Not only that, but the big thing about the quarterback discussion (at least with ESPN, which can be strange sometimes) is that the top three QBs were Geno Smith, Ryan Nassib, and Matt Barkley, but Buffalo took the unexpected route and grabbed E.J. Manuel, who looked good in college when he wasn't hurt. The biggest asset that E.J. has is his running game, but he can also be a pocket passer when he needs to be, making him a very deadly threat for opposing defenses. His biggest weakness is that in pressure situations, he tries to force throws and do too much for himself. I remember watching him play in the Virginia Tech game, down by a couple, and I was sure he was going to take what I called a "Patented E.J. sack," in which he takes a sack at the worst possible time, knocking them out of field goal range or something drastic like that. Instead, he hit a touchdown strike, much to my joy.

17. Jarvis Jones of Georgia goes to the Pittsburg Steelers. This one is interesting because Jarvis wasn't taken in the top ten. It's also interesting because Jarvis will be coming is as famed bruiser James Harrison takes his leave and heads to Cincinnati. Jarvis is a lot like Harrison in a lot of ways, delivering punishing hits and stopping the gap very well. Pittsburg made a good decision taking him.

24. Bjoern Werner of Florida State goes to the Indianapolis Colts. Here's another case of a famed veteran leaving and an excellent rookie coming in. Bjoern Werner, the German out of Florida State, was one of the best pass rushers in the NCAA last year. He was a part of the fearsome foursome of Florida State's defensive line, leading one of the top defenses in the nation and stopping running backs and quarterbacks alike in their tracks. He's replacing Dwight Freeney, one of the most decorated pass rushers of our era.

27. DeAndre Hopkins of Clemson goes to the Houston Texans. DeAndre was a joy to watch in college because he was so dangerous. As much as I hate Clemson, I have to admit that they have a talented crop of wide receivers with this guy and Sammy Watkins. With Tahj Boyd at the helm, teams would have to worry about his running game, mixed with the athletic prowess of both Sammy and DeAndre. Matt Shaub already has a talented crew of receivers, but adding DeAndre into the mix will really make defenses reconsider who they double team and whether or not they stack the box. Look out for him to make a big splash in his career.

29. Cordarrelle Patterson of Tennessee goes to the Minnesota Vikings. One of three wide receivers taken in the first round, I think he might be the best. Like Percy Harvin before him, Cordarrelle can do a lot of different things and really be a threat to opposing defenses. With Harvin leaving and going to Seattle, look for Minnesota to see what they can do, replacing Cordarrelle in their offense.

32. Matt Elam out of Florida goes to the Baltimore Ravens. This pick is yet another case of a veteran leaving and a rookie coming in to replace him. In this case, former Miami safety Ed Reed left for the Texans after his buddy Ray Lewis retired. Elam spearheaded a strong Florida defense that, unfortunately, couldn't keep Louisville at bay, although it did a wonderful job against the highly-touted offense of the Georgia Bulldogs. What makes this pick so interesting is that it wasn't Manti Te'o, who as most people know, had the fake girlfriend and that whole mess of a media feeding frenzy. This is interesting because Ray Lewis did leave, and Baltimore still has to fill that linebacker position with someone of quality. It also puts an end to the debate as to whether or not Te'o would go in the first round.

There were some interesting things that happened in this first round, but it was far less exciting than the drafts of yesteryear. Many offensive linemen and defensive players went, whereas skill players didn't see much love. The next two parts of the draft will see more skill players go, but I still expect to see a large number of offensive linemen and defensive players drafted, as there still are many holes on a lot of teams that need patching.

I hope you guys enjoyed this assessment! Feel free to add your own thoughts or to tell me something interesting that I didn't point out. Thanks guys!

I did watch it a few nights ago.. I was staying up so late when I needed to get some rest in peace. It was pretty good and all  that. But I got bored eventually.

Offseason discussion thread is great for this .