2007 NFL Draft - Round 1 - The First 16 Selections - Brady Quinn, Adrian Peterson, and More!

The 2007 NFL Draft will be held on April 28th and 29th at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. For the 28th consecutive year, the event will be televised on ESPN and ESPN2. The NFL Network will also provide coverage of the event for the 2 nd year in a row. 255 players will be selected throughout the course of 7 rounds.

For NFL junkies, this is the last event to tide us over until training camps begin. Until that time, we enter a dark period where baseball dominates the landscape (probably with a scandal or two thrown in for good measure). If you love football, you'd better make the best of the last weekend in April.

To assist you in your NFL draft enjoyment, I thought I would prepare a little mock draft to get you in the spirit. Today’s entry will cover the top 16 selections of Round One. The second entry will cover the second 16.

No doubt, some of these will be right and some will be way off. Just take a look at how high the Lions and Raiders pick. Those teams are crazy enough to screw up anybody's mock draft.

And in case you're wondering whether or not you can bet on the outcome of the draft, I did some searching and couldn't find anyone who was willing to post odds. I suppose there are just too many teams involved and too many people in those organizations with inside info. Any one of them might be tempted to cash in on their knowledge and screw things up for the bookmakers. Oh, well. There's always the friendly side bet with your friends.

Pick 1 - Oakland Raiders - JaMarcus Russell (QB, LSU) - While I'm sure that Al Davis would like to take a kicker here, Russell's arm strength makes him a hard player to pass up. There's also the fact that the Silver and Black got rid of their starting QB, Aaron Brooks. I'm guessing that Russell will get thrown right into the fire. It remains to be seen whether or not he'll get to lob bombs to Randy Moss, or whether the Raiders' terrible O-line will allow him time to even try to throw the ball. Hope you're good at running, JaMarcus.

Pick 2 - Detroit Lions - Joe Thomas (OT, Wisconsin) - Matt Millen would no doubt like to get Calvin Johnson, but taking another WR in the first round would probably get him beaten to death by a mob of angry fans. Therefore, he'll play it smart and go with the solid Joe Thomas (assuming he can't trade down). Thomas has the skills to be a pro-bowl player for years. Expect the Lions to limp through the season with Kitna at QB and then address that position in the 2008 draft.

Pick 3 - Cleveland Browns - Brady Quinn (QB, Notre Dame) - Over the last few years, the Browns have looked completely inept. That's why I think they'll pass up Calvin Johnson and Adrian Peterson and take Brady Quinn. He’s from Ohio and actually wants to play for the Brownies. Let the ineptness continue.

Pick 4 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Calvin Johnson (WR, Georgia Tech) - He’s got size like David Boston, but hopefully none of Boston’s other “talents.” He’s also got blazing speed and the ability to break the game open with one play. That’s just the kind of thing that coach John Gruden is looking for. Whether the Bucs QB is Chris Simms, Jake Plummer, or Jeff Garcia, they’ll get to throw to two speed merchants in Calvin Johnson and Joey Galloway.

Pick 5 - Arizona Cardinals - Gaines Adams (DE, Clemson) - The Cards are pretty stacked on offense, so expect them to improve their always pitiful defense. And as we all know, quality defensive ends are hard to pass up.

Pick 6 - Washington Redskins - Alan Branch (DT, Michigan) - The Skins need all kinds of help on their D-line, and the massive Branch makes for a nice start. Expect him to be a quality player for a long time to come.

Pick 7 - Minnesota Vikings - Leon Hall (CB, Michigan) - The Vikings had a stout defense last year, and this selection will ensure that it remains an elite unit for years to come. Hall ran a 4.39 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. That should tell you all you need to know.

Pick 8 - Atlanta Falcons - Adrian Peterson (RB, OU) - Has all the tools to be an elite back in the league. The Falcons have been considering cutting Warrick Dunn for a couple of years, and this is the season where he finally becomes expendable. The biggest question mark about Peterson is his injury history for such a young age.

Pick 9 - Miami Dolphins - Jamaal Anderson (DE, Arkansas) - The Dolphins are the proud owners of the oldest offensive line in the league. This makes for a nice start on reversing that trend. Many view him as the most complete end in this year’s crop of players. We’ll find out soon enough.

Pick 10 - Houston Texans - Levi Brown (OT, Penn State) - The Texans have a horrible offensive line, and something has to be done to keep new QB Matt Schaub upright. This is a good start.

Pick 11 - San Francisco 49ers - Ted Ginn, Jr. (WR, Ohio State) - The Niners gobbled up a bunch of defensive free agents in the off-season, so taking an offensive player in the draft might not be too hard to imagine. Ginn has tremendous speed and will be able to make an immediate contribution in the return game. The team cut Antonio Bryant in the off-season, so they’re going to need additional help for Alex Smith.

Pick 12 - Buffalo Bills - Patrick Willis (LB, Mississippi) - The Bills recently lost linebackers London Fletcher and Takeo Spikes. It seems a no-brainer that they’ll address this loss in the draft. He’s a versatile player who can play outside as well as in.

Pick 13 - St. Louis Rams - LaRon Landry (S, LSU) - Considered one of the top prospects in the draft, it’s viewed as something of a surprise that he fell this far. The Rams were probably planning on going in another direction, but they can’t pass up the opportunity to get a player of this quality.

Pick 14 - Carolina Panthers - Amobi Okoye (DT, Louisville) - Despite the fact that he has four years of college experience, Okoye is only 19 years old. He’ll give the Panthers a run-stuffing presence for years and years to come.

Pick 15 - Pittsburg Steelers - Adam Carriker (DE, Nebraska) - Moves very well for someone who’s 6’6” and 298 pounds. Had a good Combine performance.

Pick 16 - Green Bay Packers - Marshawn Lynch (RB, California) - “The Man with the Golden Grill” is an exciting slasher who can provide the Pack with a replacement for the departed Ahman Green. Hope he likes cold weather.

That’s the first 16. Stay tuned to daretogamble.com for the second 16, coming sometime before April 28th. In the meantime, you might as well bite the bullet and start figuring out which players are going to be on your fantasy baseball team. Yuck!

2007 NFL Draft - Round 1 - The First 16 Selections - Brady Quinn, Adrian Peterson, and More!