Darren McFadden went to the Oakland Raiders as the number four overall pick during the NFL Draft held in New York on Saturday, part of a small cadre of players expected to go high.
Felix Jones, McFadden's running mate at Arkansas, was chosen two hours later in the first round as the No. 22 overall pick by the Dallas Cowboys.
The next player from Arkansas picked was Tyrell Johnson, a safety from Arkansas State who will be going to the Minnesota Vikings. He was the 43rd overall selection, and No. 12 in round two.
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The Little Rock native wasn't be the first pick, though. That distinction already belonged to Michigan offensive lineman Jake Long, who agreed to a deal with the Miami Dolphins earlier in the week. The second pick went to Virginia defensive end Chris Long, who will go to the St. Louis Rams. Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan was picked up with the third pick from the Atlanta Falcons.
Following a long-standing tradition, Oakland went for the game-breaking threat in McFadden, prompting the fans in Radio City Music Hall to boo loudly. Many in attendance wanted the two-time Heisman Trophy runner-up to fall to the New York Jets at No. 6.
McFadden, who was the first running back selected from a pool deep with talent, joins a crowded backfield in Oakland, where Justin Fargas recently signed a new contract and Dominic Rhodes and LaMont Jordan are on the roster.
Jones was the third running back selected, behind No. 13 pick Jonathan Stewart of Oregon, who went to the Carolina Panthers. Jones' selection began a run on runners, with Illinois' Rashard Mendenhall going to Pittsburgh and speedy Chris Johnson of East Carolina taken by Tennessee at 24.
Other Arkansas expected to be picked in the draft include Arkansas defensive tackle Marcus Harrison, wide receiver Marcus Monk, fullback Peyton Hillis and offensive lineman Robert Felton.
A standout in his three years at Arkansas, McFadden is a back-to-back winner of the Doak Walker Award and a two-time runner-up for the Heisman Trophy.
McFadden rushed for 1,725 yards in his final season, an Arkansas single-season record. He is Arkansas' all-time career leader with 4,485 rushing yards and 5,743 all-purpose yards.
The selection of the former Arkansas backfield mates in the first round marks only the fifth time that the Razorbacks have seen two former players go in the opening round.
According to a news release from the Razorback program, McFadden is the highest drafted Razorback since Lamar McHan was taken with the No. 1 overall selection in 1954 by the Chicago Cardinals. He is only the fifth Arkansas player to be taken in the top five of the NFL Draft.
Saturday's draft was the first since 2004 in which Arkansas has had two players selected in the first round. That year, Shawn Andrews went 16th to Philadelphia and Ahmad Carroll was the 25th pick, by Green Bay.
According to the release, other years in which two Razorbacks were selected in the first round were 1967, 1983 and 1989.
Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
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Information for this article was contributed by The Associted Press.