2007 NFL draft
The 2007 NFL draft was the 72nd annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 28 and April 29, 2007.[1][2] 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)[3] and 32 compensatory selections.[4] 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.
2007 NFL draft
The first round was the longest in the history of the NFL draft, lasting six hours, eight minutes.[5] LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell was selected first overall by the Oakland Raiders after he had beaten Brady Quinn as the projected first selection among most analysts following his performance in the 2007 Sugar Bowl against Quinn and Notre Dame.[6][7][8] Russell is considered by many as one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history,[9][10][11] and was out of the NFL after only three seasons. Quinn also had a largely unsuccessful pro career.[12]
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, Marshawn Lynch, and Marshal Yanda; first round selections Calvin Johnson, Joe Thomas, and Adrian Peterson are widely regarded as being among the greatest to ever play at their respective positions.[13]
The following is the breakdown of the 255 players by position: