Analysis of the 2007 Draft, see who this year's biggest winners were in the first round.
Many months of pleading, wishing and speculation have now come to an end as we waive good-bye to the 2007 NFL College Draft. This yearly spectacle is one of the most anticipated events in the NFL calender year. Teams who struggled the previous season now have a chance to restock with fresh talent out of America's top college football programs. Florida, Louisiana State, Southern California, Miami are just a few of the schools you're already familiar with that you'll hear mentioned repeatedly during the draft, year in and year out These schools are the proverbial breeding grounds for the NFL as their respective styles most closely resemble those of the professional ranks.
As with every draft there are winners and losers, both in terms of the players and the teams. This year was no exception. While last year's draft boasted one of the biggest surprises in recent memory with the Houston Texans selecting Mario Williams, a defensive end out of NC State, and letting Reggie Bush, running back from USC, slide to the second over all selection there was no such controversy this year. There was however a lot of guessing as to who would be the first selection of the 2007 Draft.
Calvin Johnson played wide receiver for the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech and is widely viewed as a generational type talent. As a junior he measures 6'5" and weighs in at 239 lbs. and most surprisingly was timed running a 4.35 forty yard dash. Add to that his exceptional ball skills, good hands, crisp route running and high marks in intelligence and character it's easy to see why this kid was the top rated prospect in this year's draft class. Would he be the first player off the board? Nope, the Oakland Raiders decided to invest their pick and their future in a franchise quarterback and Mr. Johnson was left to be selected by the Detroit Lions. Remember the name Calvin Johnson, this won't be the last time you hear it.
While anyone could make a case for the Oakland Raiders taking Calvin Johnson with the first pick you could also understand them passing on him too. While a marquee wide receiver and a sure fire pro bowler was tempting the Raiders simply didn't have anyone to throw him the ball. Oakland's signal callers just did not get it done last year so the Raiders decided to draft JaMarcus Russell from LSU. Russell too is a rare talent emerging from the college ranks as one of the games best young quarterbacks who has a National Championship to his credit. He's monster of a QB at 6'5" 265 lbs who can throw the ball 60 yards through the air. He's mobile, has solid fundamentals and seems to have a good understanding of the game so for now he appears to be a good fit in Oakland.
The rest of the draft came with a few surprises; the second rated QB Brady Quinn was touted as a certain top ten prospect; however he managed to slip all the way to the 22nd pick which will probably cost him in the neighborhood of 20-25 million dollars. Brady Quinn was a stand out QB from Notre Dame and was viewed as the most NFL ready QB in recent memory. Once the Cleveland Browns decided to strengthen it's offensive line with tackle Joe Thomas with the third pick Quinn was viewed as a shoe in to go to the Miami Dolphins. However, the Dolphins surprised us all by passing on Quinn and reaching for Ohio State with receiver Ted Ginn, Jr.
Brady Quinn was finally drafted at 22, but only after the Browns, who passed on him at 3, traded with the Dallas Cowboys to get back into the first round and take their franchise quarterback. The Browns had a very impressive day one of the draft getting two top ten picks thus adding talent, youth and solidarity to their struggling offense. Left tackle Joe Thomas and QB Brady Quinn should give the Browns a formidable offense for years to come. The Cleveland Browns are my big winners in the first round of the 2007 draft.
As mentioned before, only time will tell. The top prospects can turn into busts and the guys who went undrafted can turn into stars. Now we sit back, wait and see how these young prospect's careers materialize. Save this article and check back in 2010 to see how it all panned out.
