Date(s) April 28–29, 2007 | ||
Time Noon EDT (April 28)
11:00 am EDT (April 29) Location Radio City Music Hall
in New York City, NY TV coverage (US) ESPN, ESPN2, NFL Network First selection JaMarcus Russell, QB
Oakland Raiders Mr. Irrelevant Ramzee Robinson, CB
Detroit Lions |
The 2007 National Football League draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draft was televised for the 28th consecutive year on ESPN and ESPN2. The NFL Network also broadcast coverage of the event, its second year doing so. There were 255 draft selections: 223 regular selections (instead of the typical 224) and 32 compensatory selections. A supplemental draft was also held after the regular draft and before the regular season. This was the first draft presided over by new NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Contents
The first round was the longest in the history of the NFL draft, lasting six hours, eight minutes. One of the big stories of the draft was the fall of Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn. Quinn had been projected as a potential first overall pick in early mock drafts and had been invited to attend the draft in person, but he wasn't selected until the 22nd pick in the first round by the Cleveland Browns, who acquired the pick in a trade with the Dallas Cowboys. Louisiana State University quarterback JaMarcus Russell was selected first overall by the Oakland Raiders after he had replaced Quinn as the projected first selection among most analysts following his performance in the 2007 Sugar Bowl against Quinn and Notre Dame. Russell is considered by many as one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history, and Quinn also had a largely unsuccessful pro career.
Those selections notwithstanding, Bleacher Report named the 2007 draft class the "greatest draft class in the last 25 years" in 2012 due to the heavy volume of reliable starters, as well as players selected that are now widely regarded as future Hall of Famers, such as Patrick Willis, Darrelle Revis, and Marshal Yanda; first round selections Calvin Johnson, Joe Thomas, and Marshawn Lynch are widely regarded as being among the greatest to ever play at their respective positions.
Player breakdown
The following is the breakdown of the 255 players by position:
Supplemental draft selections
For each player selected in the supplemental draft, the selecting team forfeits its pick in that round in the draft of the following season.