Looking Back - 2007 Draft

Paully D

As it's draft season I thought we could take a look back at a few drafts, starting with 2007. Frostie had a nice thread a few months ago looking back at the 2008 draft which got a bit of debate going (here) so hopefully this will be the same considering we don't have much else to talk about these days!

So what do you think of the hits and misses in the draft 6 years later? Obviously Russell was a massive, massive bust but there's some nice hits there too.

How did your team do?

If you were to do the first round over again (or a select few picks if you are short on time) what way would you go?

Here's the first round to refresh (and a link for all 7 rounds):

Red Crow

We got Aaron Ross, Bradshaw, Steve Smith and Kevin Boss from that draft. That is pretty good tbh.

I think De Ossie is the only player still with us.

Red Crow

If I had to pick again I'd probably take Anthony Spencer or Jon Beason in hindsight

JaMarcus Hustle

49ers killed it that year.

To get Joe Staley, Patrick Willis and Dashon Goldson out of the same draft was remarkable.

Dohnny Jepp

Amazing talent came out of that draft class. The best WR in the league, the best CB in the league, the best MLB in the league, arguable the best OT in the league.

JaMarcus Hustle

Dohnny Jepp wrote: »

Amazing talent came out of that draft class. The best WR in the league, the best CB in the league, the best MLB in the league, arguable the best OT in the league.

Best RB in the league too.

As for best OT, people are usually split between Thomas and Staley - and both came from this class!

Jolly Red Giant

Paully D - why did you do this to me - reminding me that Shanahan drafted Jarvis 'bloody' Moss - and gave up the a first (Reggie Neson), third (used to take Marshal Yanda) and six rounder to trade up to get him. When I saw that pick I knew that Shanahan's days at Denver were numbered.

Paully D

Ravens did quite well. Grubbs and Yanda basically transformed the O-line and McClain was decent for a few seasons. Three pro bowlers right there. Antwan Barnes fell out with Harbaugh and was moved on.

Newsome was busy as usual. Interestingly he dealt our second-round pick to the Lions for 2 thirds. One was Figurs, a WR who was a complete bust and the other went to the Jaguars plus the 5th and 6th round pick to move up and get Yanda at 86.

Only one remaining on the roster these days for us too and that's Yanda.

Dohnny Jepp

JaMarcus Hustle wrote: »

As for best OT, people are usually split between Thomas and Staley - and both came from this class!

Oh I was referring to levi Brown :pac:

ABajaninCork

Real shame about Gaines Adams. Did a nice job for the Bears. Greg Olsen should never have been traded IMO.

I still can't get over the fact that the Bears LEFT Cadillac Williams on the board and took Cedric Benson in 2005...

Not great from the eagles celek was a steal in round 5,
Bradley looked like being pro bowl MLB but injuries killed him,
Abirami was in and out of a terrible lb squad for years
And we all know about kolb

Looking back at andy reids draft history in hindsight he's been terrible for a long time now it's a miracle we've been so successful

HigginsJ

Eli Manning wrote: »

We got Aaron Ross, Bradshaw, Steve Smith and Kevin Boss from that draft. That is pretty good tbh.

I think De Ossie is the only player still with us.

We did get some excellent talent in the draft but Aaron Ross wasn't a great 1st rounder maybe Eric Wright in hindsight would have been good.

Some excellent un-drafted players, Mike De Vito, Matt Moore, Pierre Thomas, Eric Weems n Kyle Cook

mikemac1

Panthers grab my attention with Jon Beason in the 1st and Ryan Kalil in the 2nd

Nicely done. :cool:

However they took Dwayne Jarrett WR at pick 45 and he is now out of the league.
Took three years to get his first TD
Cut after off the field arrests

adrian522

JaMarcus Hustle wrote: »

49ers killed it that year.

To get Joe Staley, Patrick Willis and Dashon Goldson out of the same draft was remarkable.

Yep, Tarell Brown and Ray McDonald too who are all still with the team. Excellent draft class.

spiralism

Jolly Red Giant wrote: »

Paully D - why did you do this to me - reminding me that Shanahan drafted Jarvis 'bloody' Moss - and gave up the a first (Reggie Neson), third (used to take Marshal Yanda) and six rounder to trade up to get him. When I saw that pick I knew that Shanahan's days at Denver were numbered.

Made up for it a bit in 2008 at least by getting Clady but Shanny couldn't draft worth a **** in his last few years. Effectively giving him the GM title was a bad idea.

davyjose

JaMarcus Hustle wrote: »

Best RB in the league too.

Best two.

Amirani

Some great talent in that draft. Awful for QBs though. The only QBs still doing anything useful in the NFL being Kolb and Moore. Kevin Kolb was a second rounder and Matt Moore went undrafted.

I think it's indicative of teams over-valuing QBs in the draft, a situation that's probably worsened in the past few years.

D3PO

We (The Eagles) had a shocker of a draft that year. of 8 picks only 2 of them are still in the league.

Kevin Kolb who in fairness we did get some picks for and Brent Celek whos a a slightly above average TE which is good for a 5th rounder.

Son Of A Vidic

A good year 2007. The Pats gave away a 2nd and 7th round draft pick to the Dolphins in exchange for Wes Welker and a 4th round pick to the Raiders, in exchange for Randy Moss. Never was so much value acquired for so little.

LuckyLloyd

JaMarcus Russell and Brady Quinn huh?
Quinn has had such an insipid career, an inshape JaMarcus ultimately.

BizzyC

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

A good year 2007. The Pats gave away a 2nd and 7th round draft pick to the Dolphins in exchange for Wes Welker and a 4th round pick to the Raiders, in exchange for Randy Moss. Never was so much value acquired for so little.

Yeah, but still would've prefered Jon Beason over Merriweather....

Remember being confused why we made that pick.

frostie500

I always like to look back at drafts and think what might have been. I did a mock first on how I think things would look if the draft was redone and here it is. There's some picks here that I think the players are obviously selected earlier than they deserve but teams needs demanded that to happen.

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Pick|Team|Player|Position|School|Redraft pick|Notes
1|Oakland Raiders|JaMarcus Russel|QB|LSU|Calvin Johnson|QB was obviously the biggest need for the Raiders but no way is Johnson not picked by the Raiders in a redraft
2|Detroit Lions|Calvin Johnson|WR|Georgia Tech|Adrian Peterson|With Johnson off the board the Lions get All Day and suddenly there's a running game in motor city for the first time since Barry
3|Cleveland Browns|Joe Thomas|OT|Wisconsin|Joe Thomas|Terrific pick by the Browns for an elite LT
4|Tampa Bay Buccaneers|Gaines Adams|DE|Clemson|Derelle Revis|Buccaneers line up with Revis and Barber on the outside and have two shut down corners forcing teams to run the ball more
5|Arizona Cardinals|Levi Brown|OT|Penn State|Patrick Willis|The Cardinals could go receiver here to find a complement for Fitzgerald but other than Johnson it would be a reach to take another WR in the top five. Better for the cards to play it safe and draft a defensive leader and elite MLB
6|Washington Redskins|LaRon Landry|S|LSU|Leon Hall|The Skins got good production from Landry and I was tempted to keep him at Washington but ultimately I thought that CB was more of a need. Put Leon and DeAngelo Hall at CB and with Sean Taylor at safety this Redskins secondary would have been very good
7|Minnesota Vikings|Adrian Peterson|RB|Oklahoma|Dwayne Bowe|Peterson was a great pick so I still want to offer something on offence and Bowe would have been a very good choice for an offence that is still looking for a big, fast WR. Number 7 might be higher than Bowe's production warrents but WR was a need for the Vikings in 07 as it is now
8|Atlanta Falcons|Jamaal Anderson|DE|Arkansas|Eric Weddle|The Falcons had a terrible secondary in 2007 Weddle is arguably the best safety from this class. Was tempted to take LaMarr Woodley but the Falcons playing a 4-3 wouldnt play to his strengths
9|Miami Dolphins|Ted Ginn Jr|WR|Ohio State|Joe Staley|If the Dolphins take Staley in 07 they would have been able to start building their offensive line a year earlier than what actually happened. With a top tier LT in place they would have drafted Matt Ryan the following year and had a great QB and blindside protection going forward
10|Houston Texans|Amobi Okoye|DT|Louisville|Greg Jennings|I want to go defence for the Texans, a cornerback preferably, but looking back on the last five years getting a complimtent wideout to Andre Johnston is crucial. Jennings would be perfect for the Texans
11|San Francisco 49ers|Patrick Willis|LB|Old Miss|Jon Beason|The Niners used this draft as a crucial building block to their recent success with Willis and Staley selected early but with both already off the board the Niners need to look elsewhere. Jon Beason is the next best middle linebacker after Willis and the Niners would be delighted to have him as their MLB
12|Buffalo Bills|Marshawn Lynch|RB|California|Marshawn Lynch|The Bills used a top five on CJ Spiller a couple of years later and traded away Lynch because of his attitude problems in Buffalo. If, with hindsight, the Bills can manage Lynch better he is still very worthy of number 12
13|St Louis Rams|Adam Carriker|DT|Nebraska|Marshall Yonda|The Rams needed a some new blood at WR but taking Yonda would have been a great choice for a team that had Mark Bulger at QB
14|New York Jets|Derrelle Revis|CB|Pittsburgh|
15|Pittsburgh Steelers|Lawrence Timmons|LB|Florida State|LaMar Woodley|He deserves to go earlier but there were only a few 3-4 defences ahead of the Steelers and those teams had more pressing needs. The Steelers did well to take Timmons and Woodley with their first two picks but Woodley is the better player
16|Green Bay Packers|Justin Harrell|DT|Tennessee|Sidney Rice|The packers have some other needs but given the success that Favre and Sideny Rice had in Minnisota I would gamble on early production from Rice, especially given that Jennings has been taken off the board
17|Denver Broncos|Jarvis Moss|DE|Florida|LaRon Landry|The Broncos made a free agent aquisition of Brian Dawkins the following season so it makes sense to draft a good young safety in 07. Their secondary that season would have been Champ Bailey and Dre Bly at corner with John Lynch and Landry at safety. They had a good linebacker corp with Elvis Dumhervil coming stong in his sophmore year they also had production on their d-line
18|Cincinnati Bengals|Leon Hall|CB|Michigan|Aaron Ross|With Revis and original Bengals pick Hall off the board the Bengals take
19|Tennessee Titans|Michael Griffin|S|Texas|Michael Griffin|The Titans choose well with Griffin and while there are probably some better options available I'm inclined to see the Titans stick with what they know
20|New York Giants|Aaron Ross|CB|Texas|David Harris|Maybe a reach for Harris in the top twenty but he was very productive for the cross town Jets and inside linebacker was a key need for the Giants heading into the 07 season
21|Jacksonville Jaguars|Reggie NelsoN|S|Florida|Dashon Goldson|Has become a top class safety in the last couple of years with the Niners and would have improved the Jaguars secondary from year one
22|Cleveland Browns|Brady Quinn|QB|Notre Dame|Marshall Yonda|It's not sexy to sort out your O-Line but a draft of Joe Thomas and Yonda as your first round would be a superb draft and leave the Browns in a very promising position
23|Kanasa City Chiefs|Dwayne Bowe|WR|LSU|Steve Smith|Taking Smith would have elevated a poor offence where WR and explosive plays were severely lacking. 23 would probably be too high for Smith but if was a pressing need for the Chiefs at the time
24|New England Patriots|Brandon Meriweather|S|Miami|Ben Grubbs|Given that the Patriots were undone by the Giants pass rush in the Superbowl a draft that would include a starting RG to compliment Mankins would give the Pats a solid O-Line and with picks traded for Wes Welker and Randy Moss this would be an even better draft
25|Carolina Panthers|Jon Beason|LB|Miami|Ryan Kalil|Panthers took Kalil in the second and while he has had injury concerns when fit he has been a crucial component of the Panters offence
26|Dallas Cowboys|Anthony Spencer|LB|Purdue|Anthony Spencer|Spencer took time to really adapt to the NFL but in the last few years and has been a solid late first round choice
27|New Orleans Saints|Robert Meachem|WR|Tennessee|James Jones|It was only last season that Jones was really unleashed by the Packers but if he was with Brees from 2007 onwards I'm sure that he would have been used a lot more in the Saints wide open pass attack. Add in the Colston pick in 2008 and the Saints have a very good tandem of young wideouts to combine with their other weapons
28|San Francisco 49ers|Joe Staley|OT|Central Michigan|Jermon Bushrod|Not as good a tackle as Staley but if he's good enough to protect Drew Brees' blind side for the last four years he's good enough to warrent a first round selection for the Niners who would be very happy with Beason and Blalock if things played out like this
29|Baltimore Ravens|Ben Grubbs|G|Auburn|Justin Blalock|The O-Line was the primary need for the Ravens in 2007 and with their own picks of Yonda and Grubbs off the board Blalock is probably the most suitable choice remaining
30|San Diego Chargers|Craig Davis|WR|LSU|Paul Posluszny|Pos went early in the second to the Bills but has been a solid and dependable linebacker on a series of bad teams and would have been useful for the Chargers in the last five years
31|Chicago Bears|Greg Olson|TE|Miami|Zach Miller|His first three or four years in the league were very promising and maybe if he was at Chicago he would have been able to sustain that form but at the very least he'd give Grossman a big target
32|Indianapolis Colts|Anthony Gonzalez|WR|Ohio State|Lawrence Timmons|Gonzalez was a wasted draft choice, much better for the Colts to take a young LB

TaosHum

Draft was awful for the Dolphins. Ginn at 9 was just bizzare, even at the time no-one could see the value. The next pick was John Beck, who although was alright value, he was unable to recover from the disaster that was Miami's 1-15 season.

Soliai and Fields salvaged something from it.

JaMarcus Hustle

frostie500 wrote: »

Pick|Team|Player|Position|School|Redraft pick|Notes
23|Kanasa City Chiefs|Dwayne Bowe|WR|LSU|Steve Smith|Taking Smith would have elevated a poor offence where WR and explosive plays were severely lacking. 23 would probably be too high for Smith but if was a pressing need for the Chiefs at the time

Are you sure you're not thinking of the other Steve Smith?

The Steve Smith drafted in 2007 had one decent season with the Giants and hasn't done a whole lot else.

frostie500

JaMarcus Hustle wrote: »

Are you sure you're not thinking of the other Steve Smith?

The Steve Smith drafted in 2007 had one decent season with the Giants and hasn't done a whole lot else.

Doh!
Just after noticing as well that I have Yonda selected twice and noone for the Jets! Actually the Jets are beyond saving and Yonda could do the work of two men....:D

JaMarcus Hustle

I saw the Jets drafting no one, but I just figured that being such an inept organisation, you had them forgetting all about the draft. :pac:

frostie500

JaMarcus Hustle wrote: »

I saw the Jets drafting no one, but I just figured that being such an inept organisation, you had them forgetting all about the draft. :pac:

I was very tempted to just give them JaMarcus to be honest, at the very least they wouldnt be saddled with Sanchez' contract at the minute!

Chucky the tree

I wouldn't have Landry going in the first round, certainly not that high either. Brendan Mebane would definitely be a 1st rounder I think. Pretty poor class when you are struggling to even get 32 good players. Also, Greg Jennings was 2006.