NEW YORK — The global spread of American football has been a slow process. There are a sprinkling of foreign-born players in the NFL but, more than America's other major professional sports, it is a game which relies almost entirely on home-bred players. But Thursday, on the opening day of the annual Draft where teams go searching for the players they hope will win them a Super Bowl, there was a small sea change that offered a fresh insight into the changing face of the game. Three players, one from west Africa, one from Europe and another from the Southern Pacific Ocean, were among the 32 first-round picks, which is reserved for the cream of the college system. Ghana's Ezekiel Ansah, who only began playing the sport three years ago, was selected as the fifth overall pick by the Detroit Lions. Star Lotulelei, who was born in the Polynesian Kingdom of Tonga, was selected as the 14th overall pick by the Carolina Panthers, two places above the only quarterback who got picked in the first round. Then Germany's Bjoern Werner was chosen as the 24th pick by the Indianapolis Colts, providing a rare international trio in the ultimate version of playground pick-a-team. There are a handful of other players, from as far flung countries as Australia, Jamaica, England and Estonia, who could be selected in the latter rounds but it was the unusually high number of first round picks that was most startling. Chiefs take Fisher at No. 1 In a year of few outstanding quarterback prospects, it was the turn of unglamorous linemen to take the spotlight. The Kansas City Chiefs took Eric Fisher of Central Michigan with the No. 1 pick while Jacksonville went for Texas A&M's Luke Joeckel with selection two. It was the first time since the 1970 pro football merger that offensive tackles went 1-2. Fisher is only the third offensive tackle picked No. 1 overall since the merger, joining Orlando Pace in 1997 and Jake Long five years ago. The Fisher selection broke a string of four straight years in which quarterbacks were taken first: Matthew Stafford, Sam Bradford, Cam Newton and Andrew Luck. The first seven picks were all linemen: four on offense, three on defense. “That's a lot of love for the big boys up front, which we usually don't get,” Fisher said. “This is so surreal. I'm ready to get to work right now. I'm ready to start playing some football. I can't process what's going on right now.” None of the teams making the first 32 selections went for Manti Te'o, not even Minnesota, which had three first-round picks. The All-America linebacker's poor performance in Notre Dame's loss to Alabama in the national championship game certainly was a factor. Still to be determined is how much he was hurt by the bizarre hoax about the death of his girlfriend. Not a single QB was selected until Florida State's E.J. Manuel went to Buffalo at No. 16 — the lowest since 2000, when Chad Pennington went 18th to the Jets. Joeckel didn't seem any less thrilled to go No. 2. After Fisher and Joeckel came defensive end Dion Jordan of Oregon to Miami, which traded up with Oakland, and Oklahoma tackle Lane Johnson to Philadelphia. The procession of linemen continued with Brigham Young defensive end Ziggy Ansah, born in Ghana, going to Detroit; Louisiana State defensive end Barkevious Mingo to Cleveland; and North Carolina guard Jonathan Cooper to Arizona. The first round took three-and-a-half hours, with subsequent rounds to be held Friday. — Agencies
