Chris Long, Vernon Gholston and Derrick Harvey were the top three edge pass rushers in the draft, and it didn't take long for them to go off the big board. Long went second to St. Louis, Gholston sixth to the Jets, and Jacksonville traded up to the Ravens' eighth pick to get Harvey.
That set the tone for the early picks and underscored the need to pressure the quarterback. Seven of the first 10 picks were spent on defensive players. In addition to the three pass rushing ends, two were tackles.
Even two linebackers went in the top 10, a rarity. The Bengals watched the pass rushers go ahead of them and settled for outside linebacker Keith Rivers of USC. The Patriots traded down from 7 to 10 to grab linebacker Jerod Mayo of Tennessee. Mayo can play inside or outside and is a perfect player for the Patriots' defense.
For once, there were no reaches at the top of the draft, and none of the players the Ravens coveted fell to their eighth pick.
