Jake Long will be the first name that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell calls on Saturday.There won’t be any drama about who will be the first pick in this weekend’s NFL Draft, as the found their man and signed him, pegging Michigan OT to add a much-needed boost to their offensive line. I briefly pondered putting a catchy, Long-related headline, but I think we’ve seen enough of those, right?

Several prospects were linked with the pick, from Virginia defensive end , Ohio St. DE , Boston College QB , among others, but the Dolphins started negotiations with Long almost two weeks ago, which allowed them to get a big headstart on getting the deal done.

It looked like new Dolphins GM may have let the cat out of the bag last week when he hinted that their pick was going to be a defensive player, but as it turns out, that was either a bluff or an unintentional slip.

Long will be only the third offensive lineman to go #1 overall in the last 40 years, following USC’s Ron Yary (1968 by the Minnesota Vikings) and Ohio St.’s Orlando Pace (1997 by the St. Louis Rams).

Yary, a seven-time Pro Bowler in 15 NFL seasons, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2001, and Pace, who has been to seven Pro Bowls in his first 11 seasons, will follow him soon enough. So, there are definitely some lofty standards for Long to live up to, but obviously Ireland and have enough faith in him to make him their choice.

Is he the best choice for the Dolphins? A guy like the freakishly athletic Gholston offers up superstar potential, and could do wonders for their defense. Had things not worked out with Long, the decision likely would’ve come down to he and , who has great potential himself (and bloodlines as well), and offers much less ‘boom or bust’ and more safety than Gholston, just as does. Going back to Ireland’s slip, it could just be that he was a little more into one of those guys.

O-line is looked at as one of the riskier positions when it comes to high selections, but sometimes, need wins out, and offensive line was the Dolphins’ biggest need heading into the draft. With Long being the top offensive lineman on the board, it’s a safe pick, and it makes sense.

By the time the second round rolls around, the crop thins out quite a bit, given that Ryan Clady, Branden Albert, Chris Williams, Jeff Otah, and Gosder Cherilus could all go in the first round. Packaging some of their second-round picks to move up could be a possibility, but when you have a bunch of other positions to address, you want to have as many picks as possible.

Taking Long gives Miami a chance to address the line again in the second (where they have two picks) or with the first pick in the third, where they could nab someone like Virginia Tech’s Duane Brown, Nebraska’s Carl Nicks, or Rutgers’ Jeremy Zuttah, who would give them two talented young tackles to build around. The Dolphins have some young talent and potential on offense (Ronnie Brown and Lorenzo Booker at running back, Ted Ginn, Jr. and Derek Hagan at receiver, John Beck at QB), and will likely add a couple more skill players (and likely a QB) in the draft, but the better your offensive line is, the better your chances for offensive success (and keeping the injuries down) are.

Does he have the makings to follow in Yary and Pace’s footsteps and be one of the best in the league? Or will the Dolphins come to regret this pick?

With the first pick now in place, that means there’s one less decision to deliberate over on my final mock draft, which you will be able to see on FFToolbox soon, so be on the lookout for it.

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