Offensive Tackle Jake Long is the First Pick of the 2008 National Football League (NFL) Draft

Offensive Tackle (OT) Jake Long of Michigan is the first draft pick of the 2008 NFL Draft. On Tuesday, April 22nd, the Miami Dolphins agreed to terms with Jake Long. In doing so, the former Michigan Offensive Tackle (OT) became the first OT taken with the first pick of the draft since Orlando Pace was picked by the St. Louis Rams with the first pick of the 1997. Orlando Pace attended Ohio State, Michigan's stauch rival college football school.

More recently, Jake Long follows in the footsteps of offensive tackles Joe Thomas selected third by the Cleveland Browns in the 2007 NFL Draft, D'Brickashaw Ferguson selected fourth by the New York Jets in the 2006 NFL Draft and Robert Gallery selected second by the Oakland Raiders in the 2004 NFL Draft. The latter of which is widely considered a bust, which the Miami Dolphins and Bill Parcells hope is not the case with this year's first round draft pick.

Four days before the beginning of the 2008 National Football League (NFL) draft on April 26th, 2008, the St. Louis Rams are, essentially, on the clock with the second overall pick of the 2008 NFL Draft. Instead of having ten minutes to make their decision on the heels of the first round draft pick, the St. Louis Rams have been granted the benefit of knowing exactly what the Miami Dolphins intentions are - having come to terms in the range of $30 million, according to ESPN sources.

The selection of Jake Long with the first overall pick, should also allow the Atlanta Falcons (3rd pick), Oakland Raiders (4th pick) and Kansas City Cheifs (5th pick) additional information when heading into the first day of the draft at 3pm on Saturday at Radio City Music Hall in New York, New York. The news may come has an added bonus since this years first round of draft picks only allow ten minutes per selection, as opposed to fifteen minutes in previous years. Additionally, round two of the draft will last seven minutes per selection, while rounds three through seven will last five minutes each.

Next up on the draft selection board for the 2008 NFL Draft: the St. Louis Rams. Feel free to make your selection before draft day, as the Atlanta Falcons (3rd pick), Oakland Raiders (4th pick) and Kansas City Cheifs (5th pick) definitely will not mind.

Offensive Tackle Jake Long stands in at 6'7 and 313 pounds.