NFL draft football prospects Eric Fisher, center, of Central Michigan, and Jonathan Cooper, of North Carolina, build mock trophies with pediatric patient J.T. Flanagan, left, of Carmel, N.Y., in the Kravis Children's Hospital of New York's Mount Sinai Medical Center, Thursday, April 25, 2013. Fisher has been picked by the Kansas City Chiefs.

NEW YORK - The Kansas City Chiefs have taken offensive tackle Eric Fisher of Central Michigan to begin the NFL draft Thursday night.

Fisher became the first player from the Mid-American Conference taken to open the draft. He is the third offensive tackle picked No. 1 overall since the 1970 merger, joining Orlando Pace in 1997 and Jake Long five years ago.

Fisher is the first selection by new Chiefs coach Andy Reid and general manager John Dorsey, who entertained trade offers before selecting the 6-foot-7, 306-pound Fisher over Texas A&M All-America tackle Luke Joeckel.

After Commissioner Roger Goodell paid tribute to the first responders at the Boston Marathon bombings and the victims of the West, Texas explosion, he announced Fisher's name. It broke a string of four straight quarterbacks taken first: Matthew Stafford, Sam Bradford, Cam Newton and Andrew Luck.

This is considered a QB-weak draft.