It was another successful first round of the NFL draft for the SEC, even if one star had to wait a lot longer than he expected.
By the time the night was over, Jadeveon Clowney was the first overall pick, Johnny Manziel was in Cleveland, and the SEC led all conferences with 11 picks in the first round.
The first 10 picks were littered with SEC talent, as Clowney went first to the Houston Texans, Greg Robinson went second to the St. Louis Rams, Jake Matthews went sixth to the Atlanta Falcons, and Mike Evans went seventh to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The real drama of the night came with Manziel Watch. The former Texas A&M Heisman Trophy winner was at one point expected to go No. 1 overall. Then, there was no way he was getting out of the first five picks. Then, the Dallas Cowboys were thought to be the favorites to land him in the middle of the first round.
But Manziel tumbled all the way down to No. 22 when the Cleveland Browns traded with the Philadelphia Eagles to get college football's most exciting player. Many thought Cleveland would end up being the destination for Manziel, but dropping that far was a surprise. Something tells me Manziel will be pretty fired up to prove a lot of people wrong about passing on him.
There were a couple of other first-round surprises concerning the SEC, too. For starters, former Tennessee offensive tackle Ja'Wuan James went 19th to the Miami Dolphins after being projected as a second-rounder. Former Florida defensive tackle Dominique Easley, who missed most of the 2013 season after suffering an ACL injury, was drafted by the New England Patriots with the 29th pick. And former Auburn defensive end Dee Ford was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs at No. 23 after being projected as a second-rounder.
Here's a complete look at how the SEC fared in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft:
1. Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina -- Houston Texans
2. Greg Robinson, OT, Auburn -- St. Louis Rams
6. Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M -- Atlanta Falcons
7. Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
12. Odell Beckham Jr., WR, LSU -- New York Giants
17. C.J. Mosley, LB, Alabama -- Baltimore Ravens
19. Ja'Wuan James, OT, Tennessee -- Miami Dolphins
21. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, S, Alabama -- Green Bay Packers
22. Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M -- Cleveland Browns
23. Dee Ford, DE, Auburn -- Kansas City Chiefs
29. Dominique Easley, DT, Florida -- New England Patriots