Jameis Winston was selected with the first pick in the NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while the Detroit Lions used their selection to take Marcus Mariota.
Much of the build-up in Chicago had been dominated by the two quarterbacks and whether the Buccaneers or Lions would consider trades, but there were no surprises early in the evening.
Defensive end Dante Fowler Jr was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the third overall pick, while Amari Cooper and Brandon Scherff completed the top five as they moved to the Oakland Raiders and Washington Redskins respectively.
Leonard Williams fell to number six for the New York Jets, who took the chance to add another defensive asset to their roster.
The first trade of the night did not arrive until the San Francisco 49ers handed the 15th selection to the San Diego Chargers as they moved up the Draft to acquire Melvin Gordon.
Shane Ray was drafted by the Denver Broncos, who traded up to take the 23rd pick from the Lions in order to secure the services of the SEC Defensive Player of the Year.
Full list of first-round picks:
1. James Winston - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2. Marcus Mariota - Detroit Lions
3. Dante Fowler Jr - Jacksonville Jaguars
4. Amari Cooper - Oakland Raiders
5. Brandon Scherff - Washington Redskins
6. Leonard Williams - New York Jets
7. Kevin White - Chicago Bears
8. Vic Beasley - Atlanta Falcons
9. Ereck Flowers - New York Giants
10. Todd Gurley - St. Louis Rams
11. Trae Waynes - Minnesota Vikings
12. Danny Shelton - Cleveland Browns
13. Andrus Peat - New Orleans Saints
14. DeVante Parker - Miami Dolphins
15. Melvin Gordon - San Diego Chargers
16. Kevin Johnson - Houston Texans
17. Arik Armstead - San Francisco 49ers
18. Marcus Peters - Kansas City Chiefs
19. Cameron Erving - Cleveland Browns
20. Nelson Agholor - Philadelphia Eagles
21. Cedric Ogbuehi - Cincinnati Bengals
22. Bud Durpee - Pittsburgh Steelers
23. Shane Ray - Denver Broncos
24. DJ Humphries - Arizona Cardinals
25. Shaq Thompson - Carolina Panthers
26. Breshad Perriman - Baltimore Ravens
27. Byron Jones - Dallas Cowboys
28. Laken Tomlinson - Detroit Lions
29. Phillip Dorsett - Indianapolis Colts
30. Damarious Randall - Green Bay Packers
31. Stephane Anthony - New Orleans Saints
32. Malcom Brown - New England Patriots