Cam Newton Goes No. Overall in NFL Draft

By Jon E. Dougherty at 29 Apr 2011

(Newsroom America) -- The Carolina Panthers selected Auburn's Cam Newton number one overall in the NFL draft Thursday, fulfilling the predictions of most football handicappers and giving hope to a struggling team that it has found a franchise quarterback who can win in the competitive NFC South.

While Newton, last year's Heisman Trophy winner, was expected to go to the Panthers, who held the number one pick and are in need of a QB after Jimmy Clausen of Notre Dame struggled in his rookie season last year, the draft held plenty of surprise picks, both for the teams players went to and the depth at which some players were chosen.

The Auburn alum, who led the team to an undefeated season last year and its first national championship since 1957, vowed to immediately make a positive impact in Charlotte, where the Panthers finished last in the league in 2010.

"I'm ready to change this whole organization around, to go from worst to first," he said. "Just being a Panther is the most special part about this."

While festive, as usual, there was an obvious cloud hanging over this year's draft, in the form of the current labor dispute and ongoing lockout with team owners. Fans' frustrations boiled over when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell first stepped to the podium and asked for a moment of silence for the victims of the storms that tore through the South earlier in the day. He was booed and greeted with chants from some fans who shouted, "We want football!"

"I hear you. So do I," Goodell responded.

Team owners were dealt a defeat earlier this week after U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson ordered the lockout to end immediately, despite a planned appeal. Teams are expected to resume football operations, at least temporarily, Friday.

Click here to see the remainder of the draft order.

Contact Jon E. Dougherty