NFL Draft: Picks 1-5

Live blogging for the 2007 NFL Draft…pretty cool, right? Naturally we’re only doing it for the chicks. We know deadspin proposed this yesterday, but if you’re crazy enough to play the “Take A Shot Everytime Boomer Prematurely Leaks A Pick” game, well, then you’re pretty much our hero.

1. Oakland Raiders- QB JaMarcus Russell, LSU

So the Raiders do what everyone expected, well besides for us and this guy, and take JaMarcus Russell to run their franchise for the next 15 years. We got a feeling this won’t work out, but you definitely can’t blame them for taking a quarterback- when you’re up in the top 5, sometimes teams feel like you have to take a QB. One thing that’s got to be a little troubling if you’re a Raiders fan is the video of Russell going on one knee and bombing the ball 63 yards into the endzone. The last NFL prospect we saw do that? Kyle Boller. For the record, we don’t hate Russell, but we prefer Johnson over anyone and think Quinn is the best QB. Russell might have a rough couple of years with five turnstiles on the o-line, but could eventually turn out to be pretty good.

2. Detroit Lions- WR Calvin Johnson, Georgia Tech

The Lions do the right thing and take Johnson at #2. As a Bears fan this obviously terrifies me, but it’s pretty much the only pick the Lions can make. Now it’ll be interesting to see if they deal him to the Bucs. We said this earlier, but it’s worth restating, we really think Johnson has a chance to be one of the best wide receivers ever. There’s just no way Detroit could justify passing on him, even with the Charles Rogers and Mike Williams debacles. Something interesting: If Calvin was two inches taller, he probably would have been moved to defensive end in college. They’d maybe bulk him up 10 or 15 pounds, and we’d see a 6’7 255 lb Calvin Johnson coming off the edge with 4.3 or 4.4 speed. That’s just scary.

3. Cleveland Browns- OT Joe Thomas, Wisconsin

The Browns go with Thomas over Quinn, to the ire of some in the DawgPound. Obvisouly, this is a real safe pick, a selection you can’t knock. I have Peterson and Quinn as the number two and three best prospects in the draft, but adding a premier left tackle is never a bad idea. Plus, how could you not like a white guy from the Big 10? Solid Pick. Him and Eric Steinbach will solidify that line for a long time.

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- DE Gaines Adams, Clemson

“Hopefully he’ll become, NO GAINES Adams,” ladies and gentleman, Chris Berman. We thought this pick was going to be Quinn or Peterson just because that’d take Gruden’s craziness to a new level, but this is another pick you can’t really bash. Tampa’s once proud defense is old and not very good now, an edge rusher like Adams will eventually take over for Simeon Rice. It’s also interesting that Adams was the guy everyone said Detroit coveted and Johnson was the guy everyone said the Bucs coveted. Trades winds blowing? Possibly.
5. Arizona Cardinals0 OT Levi Brown, Penn State

Yikes. You can tell they were praying Thomas would fall to them, and this might have been a panic pick. Levi Brown reminds us of Levi Jones who went 10th(?) a few years ago to the Bengals and it was considered a reach. But Jones has had a pretty good career in Cincinnati and has helped protect their franchise quarterback, Carson Palmer. Brown should do that for Leinart and help open some holes for Edge James.