Stafford Goes First; Crabtree Slides To No. 10

April 25, 2009 by Dave Congrove

The first round of the NFL Draft was conducted on Saturday and it came as no surprise when Matthew Stafford (QB, Georgia) was taken with the first overall selection by the Detroit Lions as they had agreed to terms prior to the draft.

However it was a major surprise when WR Michael Crabtree slid down the list to the No. 1 pick where he was finally grabbed by San Francisco. Crabtree entered the draft after his sophomore season. He won back-to-back Biletnikoff Awards at Texas Tech and finished 5th in the 2008 Heisman Trophy voting.

RB Donald Brown became the first player from the Connecticut Huskies to ever be taken in the first round when Indianapolis selected him with the 27th pick.

The ACC had four players taken in the top ten picks, followed by the SEC with 3, the Big 12 with 2 and the PAC-10 with 1.

USC had three players taken in the first round with QB Mark Sanchez claimed by the New York Jets on the 5th pick. Trojan defenders Brian Cushing (No. 15) and Clay Matthews (No. 26) were also grabbed in the opening round.

Josh Freeman of Kansas State was the only other QB to be selected in the first round.

Here are the 1st-round selections from the 2009 NFL Draft: