And with the first pick in the 2012 NFL Draft…

Meet Roger Goodell’s wingman: Paul Hicks III.

Hicks is effectively the NFL’s top lobbyist, the guy who makes sure the league stays on point.

Even Goodell gets a chaperone, especially at the NFL Draft.

A Greenwich GOP  selectman from 1987 to 1991 who went on to become chief of staff of the late Congressman Stewart McKinney before leaving for the greener pastures of corporate public relations, Hicks is one of the dozens of suits roving the stage and maze of nooks and crannies at Radio City Music Hall.

Neil Vigdor