Olaivavega Ioane among the safest picks in a very safe first round

The NFL Mock Draft Database has a Consensus NFL Mock Draft, which shows the most commonly projected player for each slot. And the first round of the NFL Draft last night saw quite a few of these projections come to fruition. And in the NMDD projections that didn't manifest, we saw the given team take a different player at the same position. In other words, the first round was largely a "safe" one, and the "safest" pick, arguably, was Olaivavega Ioane. The Baltimore Ravens took the Penn State OG at #14, just like the Consensus Mock predicted they would do.

The Ravens filled their top need with a 6'4" 320 lb offensive guard, and it was indicative of the draft's overall theme last night. Lots of teams went needs-based over value, and made picks that were easier than usual to predict. The Ravens really needed to do, to quote a track off MC Hammer's fifth album, (The Funky Headhunter) "Somethin' for the O.G.'s" as their starting guard pairing was among the worst in the league.

However, the Ravens have now completed their major upgrade over last year's first choice pairing of left guard Andrew Vorhees and right guard Daniel Faalele. John Simpson slots in as the new right guard, while Olaivavega Ioane, or just "Vega" as he likes to be called, slots in as a day one starter at left guard.

And apologies for using the draft cliche "day one starter" just now, I'm only trying to maintain "eye discipline" while writing about this "road grader." With 11 total picks in this draft, look for the Ravens to add another guard or two in a later round and build depth.

Below are three more examples (of the many from Thursday night) of other teams doing what the Ravens did.

#1 Las Vegas Raiders Fernando Mendoza

This is probably the only pick that absolutely everyone got right. We all knew this was going to happen, as it just made perfect sense on numerous levels. Mendoza now joins the extremely rarified air of Heisman winner, national champion, and #1 overall club. The only other members of this club are Joe Burrow, Cam Newton, Jameis Winston, and Angelo Bertelli.

#25 Chicago Bears, Dillon Thieneman, S, Oregon

If the Indiana native stays with the Bears long enough, he might get to play for a pro team in his home state. Spoiler alert: the Gary/Merrillville/Hammond Bears idea is just pie in the sky. Suburban Arlington Heights remains the most likely relocation destination. But everyone knew the Bears were going safety with their first selection, and they did just that.

#32 Seattle Seahawks, Jadarian Price, RB, Notre Dame

Another NMDD prediction came true: Price combined with Jeremiyah Love at #3 to the Arizona Cardinals to make history. The Notre Dame duo marked the first time in NFL Draft history that we saw the first two running backs off the board from the same school. The reigning champions don't have many needs, but running back is their most pressing.

This article originally appeared on Ravens Wire: Ravens selection embodied the "needs addressing" theme of round 1