NFL Draft 2013 Results: Who Had Most Impressive Round 1 Haul?

The National Football League introduced 32 former college athletes to their new professional teams in the draft yesterday.

While we knew the top players would be picked in Round 1, there were a few surprises sprinkled in that left the experts scratching their heads.

Although some teams tried to be bold and take a risk, other teams used a collection of draft picks to immediately fill holes in their roster.

Here are the three best teams that used the first day of the draft to their advantage and gave their fans hope for the future.

3. Kansas City Chiefs

Even though the Chiefs saw their first round end early, boy did they make a statement for the future of their franchise.

By drafting left tackle Eric Fisher out of Central Michigan with the first overall pick, not only did the Chiefs shock some when that name wasn’t Luke Joeckel, but they gave new starting quarterback Alex Smith some protection on the left side.

Fisher looks the part of an NFL lineman; he’s a beast sitting at 6’7” and 306 pounds. He can block in both the running and passing game, which is exactly what the Chiefs want. They already have a stud running back in Jamaal Charles and now have an efficient quarterback in Alex Smith. Andy Reid will want to have a balanced offense, and having Fisher allows that to happen.

The Chiefs now have a solid core on the offensive side to match one of the NFL’s more underrated defenses.

Although he needs to add some weight to his frame, Fisher has the capabilities to be a quarterback’s body guard for a long time in the NFL.

2. New York Jets

Although they lost the top cornerback in the league, the Jets used the pick they acquired in the Darrelle Revis trade on Dee Milliner, one of the best cornerbacks in this year’s draft.

Coming out of Alabama, Milliner is strong, can play press coverage and has the ability to stay with any type of receiver. In the national championship game against Notre Dame this past January, he dominated in coverage.

His ability to tackle and match up with different receivers is second to none in this draft. If the Jets were trying to find a replacement for Revis, Milliner is their best bet.

Along with Milliner, the Jets decided to beef up their defensive line by adding Sheldon Richardson out of Missouri only a few picks later.

Being one of the better DL in the draft, Richardson makes up for a lack of size and strength with above-average agility and quickness off the snap, which are rare in defensive linemen.

Richardson also is explosive off the line, and combined with that agility can make great plays on the inside and can catch offensive linemen off guard.

It’s going to be feast or famine with Richardson. He’s going to have to bulk up if he wants to play inside in a 4-3 scheme.

Even though the Jets gave Mark Sanchez no offensive help, they made up for it by getting better the only way Rex Ryan knows how: through his defense.

1. Minnesota Vikings

With three picks on Day 1 of the draft, the Vikings management was nothing short of phenomenal yesterday.

Minnesota made the most of the first round, seeing as they have no more picks until Round 4.

It was all about drafting for need, as the Vikings got value at three key positions: defensive tackle, cornerback and wide receiver.

Kevin Williams now has some help anchoring the defensive line with the addition of Sharrif Floyd out of Florida. Floyd can learn from the veteran Williams and eventually take over for him as well. He’s big, strong and can shoot the gap with his quickness. If he builds up his stamina Floyd can certainly be the future of this defensive line in Minnesota.

The next two picks of Xavier Rhodes out of Florida State and Cordarrelle Patterson from Tennessee were the cherries on top for the Vikings.

Rhodes is big, strong and loves to play physical. He can thrive in a press-coverage scheme, and I think he can be a solid No. 2 cornerback to Antoine Winfield. He can help sure up the Vikings pass coverage in no time.

Patterson is explosive, having a 40-yard dash time of 4.42 seconds. He can separate on vertical routes or find the soft spot in zone-coverage schemes. According to Mike Mayock of NFL Network, “After Tavon Austin you have the most explosive offensive player in the draft.”

He knows how to separate with his speed and his technique, possessing a great swipe move to gain leverage on cornerbacks.

After signing Greg Jennings in the offseason and now adding the vertical quickness of Patterson, Christian Ponder has some weapons. Maybe now Adrian Peterson doesn’t have to do all the work in Minnesota.