Eric Fisher (right) from Central Michigan University stands with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected by the Kansas City Chiefs as the first overall pick in the 2013 National Football League (NFL) Draft at Radio City Music Hall in New York, on Thursday. (Reuters)

Reuters/New York

An unfashionable player in an unfashionable position, Eric Fisher completed a meteoric rise to be chosen as the number one pick in the NFL Draft on Thursday.

The 22-year-old offensive tackle was thrust into the American sporting spotlight when he was picked by the Kansas City Chiefs as this year’s number one, an honour normally reserved for quarterbacks.

Fisher, a hulking giant who stands 6ft 7in (2.01 metres) and weighs 306 pounds (139 kilograms) bounded on to the stage at Radio City Music Hall like a teenager on prom night, wrapping his arms around NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell as the enormity of his selection began to sink in.

“I can’t even process what’s happening right now, this is surreal,” he said. “This is a dream come true, it was one of my goals.”

Fisher became just the fourth offensive tackle to be picked number one in the draft but it was not the first time he had defied the odds.

He was virtually unwanted when he finished high school. Rejected by the major footballing colleges, he went to Central Michigan and used his snub as motivation.

“I had a chip on my shoulder,” he said. “I’m just a very competitive person.”

The Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, who was an offensive lineman when he was at college, saw something in Fisher that he liked, picking him primarily to protect new quarterback Alex Smith, who was traded from San Francisco.

As the number one pick, Fisher is likely to earn in excess of $20mn for his four seasons and has promised his mother, who he said had worked tirelessly to get him through college, a new life.

“My mom worked for 33 years. I’m just glad to be able to give something back to her,” added Fisher.

“We’re just ordinary blue collar people. She always said these sort of things don’t happen to people like us. So It’s like winning the lottery.”

While the likes of Troy Aikman, John Elway and the Manning brothers Peyton and Eli all went on to win Super Bowls after being picked number one in the draft, the top spot is no guarantee for success and has been a curse for others.

Quarterback JaMarcus Russell, who was taken first in the 2007 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders of Louisiana State University, walked away from the game after just three unspectacular seasons, although he pocketed $39mn.