So where do we begin? How do we break down the Marathon that is the 2007 NFL Draft.

Zennie likes to sing my praises, and I apologize for correcting him here, but he was off by one year. This was my 33rd Draft, and my 21st with a press credential working for various organizations. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t tell you all how much I enjoyed this Draft from a working standpoint, even though I was miserable from a health standpoint with a sore throat. Working with both Zennie at SBS and Walter at Fieldposition over the last year has been a great experience, and it should continue for a long time to come. It’s also great to work with great guys like Author Wil Mara, who thinks I’m some sort of second coming of Rich Little!

All that out of the way, lets get down to the meat of the draft. I was wrong, I admit it. I promised I would, so here I am. The Raiders suckered me in, As Walter would say “I’ve been Smoke screened, big time. I really believed that once they selected Quinn, they would trade Randy Moss, and the offensive conversion would be complete. I got it half right at least. Moss is a Patriot now, and JaMarcus Russell will have to develop a relationship with Jerry Porter and Ronald Curry. Clearly the better drafting team in the Bay area is the 49ers, getting both LB Patrick Willis and OT Joe Staley. Seems like what the Raiders are doing defies logic, much like Dallas trading out of the round altogether.

Speaking of the Big “D”, who’s driving the horse cart there? Ok so they had plenty of picks to trade around, But Doug Free? James Marten? This is the future of your Offensive line. Yes Jerry, lets get some value here, we don’t need anyone in the first round…Oh wait, this Spencer kid from Perdue, he’s worth a reach isn’t he. Seems like only the Eagles had a worse draft in the NFC East (Kevin Kolb? at 36??) I’m sure Donovan McNabb is sleeping well this week.

Surely The Cleveland Browns had the best draft in Ohio in years. Good thing too, because it probably saved Crennell and Savage's Jobs for the next two or three years,.....Unless Bill Cowher decides to un-retire. If they had tried to do it the other way around, Joe Thomas would not have been there past the 7th Pick, no matter where the fishing boad was that he was with Daddy On.

Over the next few posts we will break down the best and the worst of the weekend that was at NYC Radio City Music Hall.


Bill(Draftnik)

I can't believe Darrius Walker was passed by, but he was. That's a major error for a running back so productive for the Irish.

BEARS DRAFT DAY 2 | Angelo gets what he's looking for to fill class in later rounds; undrafted Florida QB Leak coming to camp

April 30, 2007
BY BRAD BIGGS bbiggs@suntimes.com
In the days leading up to the draft, general manager Jerry Angelo said the Bears were going to need a little luck for things to work out to their satisfaction.

During the discussion, a ladybug wandered across the table, and it was pointed out that could only be a sign of good fortune to come.

Don't worry, he didn't devour the spotted little creature, but the final four rounds of the draft fell just about how Angelo was hoping Sunday. The Bears added a developmental guard in Josh Beekman, who they didn't figure would be around at the end of the fourth round, as well as some candidates for Dave Toub's special-teams unit.

''We like our class a lot,'' coach Lovie Smith said. ''As far as how much the players will contribute, I'll just say we have a track record for playing young players. We are excited about some of these players being able to contribute soon.''

The tone was set for a strong draft Saturday when the Bears took Miami tight end Greg Olsen with the 31st pick in the first round, which Angelo said three teams called trying to get. Normally, he would deal down in that position, but the Bears felt so strongly about the 6-6 Olsen -- who runs a 4.51-second 40-yard dash -- that they stayed put to make the selection.

Then the Bears passed on taking a wide receiver at No. 37 -- they would have chosen from among USC's Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith and South Carolina's Sidney Rice -- and traded the pick to the San Diego Chargers to create more depth, which became Northern Illinois running back Garrett Wolfe in the third round and Louisiana-Monroe safety Keith Payne in the fifth, plus a third-rounder from the Chargers in hand for next season. The Bears are expected to monitor wide receivers in free agency as post-draft cuts are made.

Completing the day Sunday were New Hampshire cornerback Cory Graham in the fifth round and Mississippi cornerback Trumaine McBride and Iowa State offensive tackle Aaron Brant in the seventh.

''If we were right, we're really going to like this class,'' Angelo said. ''We feel very strongly we know each of these players inside-out. I'm not saying we don't have concerns -- there are things they need to get better with -- but they all have strong traits.''

Payne started his college career as a running back before switching to defense to replace Chris Harris when he left Louisiana-Monroe for the Bears two years ago. Payne is 6 feet, 220 pounds, and Angelo said the coaching staff wanted to get a bigger safety.

Graham also has good size at 6 feet, 192 pounds and is a solid match for the cover-2 scheme with experience in zone coverage. McBride faced top competition in the Southeastern Conference, and Brant projects as a size prospect at 6-7, 320.

It usually takes a couple of years to evaluate a draft, but the Bears' rookie class a year ago was a hit from the start, with Devin Hester setting return records and Mark Anderson and Danieal Manning developing into front-line talent. Olsen will get an opportunity quickly, and second-round pick Dan Bazuin will have a chance early at defensive end.

Michael Okwo, a third-round pick from Stanford, was one of the top linebackers on the Bears' board. Angelo said he saw a lot of similar traits in Okwo as he did in Lance Briggs, whom he plucked out of Arizona in the third round in 2003. Between Okwo and Jamar Williams, another Pac-10 pick who came on board in the fourth round last year from Arizona State, there figures to be a replacement in place.

''We have a good player in Jamar Williams, and I am really interested to see how he progresses,'' Angelo said. ''This Okwo is a very good player, highly productive. This guy makes all the plays like Lance did.

''Usually on that first day, you are picking a player a half a round higher than where they might go and in some cases a round higher, and that is irrelevant as long as you believe in that player.''

The newcomers will get their first exposure when they arrive for orientation Thursday and take the field Friday for a three-day rookie minicamp. Three of the bigger names to go undrafted also will attend as the Bears reached free-agent agreements with Florida quarterback Chris Leak, Notre Dame running back Darius Walker and record-setting New Hampshire wide receiver David Ball.

Leak followed Rex Grossman to Florida and is from the same area of North Carolina as quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton.

''We thought this would be a good fit for Chris to come in and learn behind Rex and Brian Griese and get his feet wet,'' said Fletcher Smith, Leak's agent.

''As far as being able to learn under a veteran quarterback and getting into a great system, you kind of think things happen for a reason,'' Leak told the Gainesville Sun. ''I really believe that.''

Bill Chackhes and I sat down to talk with Wil Mara, the author of the book "The Draft" at the 2007 NFL Draft.

Wil Mara has been writing and publishing books since 1988. He began with a manuscript about herpetology, a childhood hobby, and sold it to TFH Publications, who at the time was the world's largest publisher of animal books. Several months later he gave them a second one, at which time he was offered a position on their editorial staff. He would go on to write a total of 18 titles during his tenure.

Wil turned to writing fulltime and secured a deal with NYC publisher St. Martin's Press for a string of mainstream titles—his "NFL novels." Mixing real-world factuality and behind-the-scenes detail with imaginative storytelling, these books are expected to garner a loyal following of football fans worldwide. The first in the group, The Draft, was released at the end of October 2006, with a second book due to arrive about a year later.

His website is wilmara.com

As you watch this video, look at who passes in the background.

The top of the first round didn’ t live up to the hype. The swirling rumors of multiple team trades and top three upheaval never happened. The first eight picks went by and the only eyebrow raisers were Brady Quinn’s notable descent, and Adrian Peterson falling out of the top five. But, even those weren’t too crazy. Peterson was still taken in the top ten and surely the Dolphins, with huge questions at quarterback would take the highly touted Notre Dame quarterback off of the board.

Then, with the ninth overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, the Miami Dolphins select Ohio State wide receiver Ted Ginn, Jr. My jaw hit the floor. Is Cam Cameron much more comfortable with Daunte Culpepper or Cleo Lemon than ANYONE could possibly believe?

I have said in the past that if anyone can bring Culpepper back to top form, a guru like Cameron can. But Cameron likes his quarterback to be quick, confident, decision makers. Culpepper hasn’t made a quick decision since Randy Moss exited Minnesota. However, talk of Cameron being disenchanted with Culpepper had to be premature. Given the status of Culpepper’s rehab, Cameron has yet to see Culpepper in action - at least from the perspective as Culpepper’s head coach.

And what of Cleo Lemon? Sure, Cameron made no secret that he liked the kid when the two were in San Diego. But does he have enough confidence in a kid who’s yet to prove anything on the field that he would pass up a top prospect like Quinn?

The passing up of Brady Quinn aside, why Ginn, Jr.? Forget for the moment that the Dolphins have issues at quarterback. Forget the question of drafting a receiver when you have no one to deliver the football. Look at the Ginn selection in its own right. The Dolphins selected a receiver who shows inconsistency catching the football and will likely be nothing more than a replacement for Wes Welker in the return game. Sure the return game is important and Ginn Jr. has the potential to be an even better returner than Welker but do you address the return game with a TOP TEN PICK? The Dolphins weren’t so stacked that they had no other needs that could have been addressed here. I certainly can't believe that they passed up a player who would touch the ball on every offensive down for one that would probably only touch the ball around 7 times a game.

Thirteen picks later, the Dallas Cowboys take advantage of how the Mighty Quinn hath fallen and engineer a trade with Cleveland. The Cowboys take the #36 overall (4th pick of round 2) in this year’s draft and Cleveland’s first round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft to allow the Browns to grab Quinn at 22 before the Kansas City Chiefs have a chance to take the clock at 23. Dallas appears to have made off like bandits with no immediately pressing needs. But then the Cowboys negate the move by handing the #36 overall pick they wrangled from Cleveland to division rival Philadelphia along with their 3rd and 5th round picks to move back into the first round and take Perdue defensive end Anthony Spencer.

Now, Anthony Spencer is a great player who is NFL-ready. He’s got the tools and the ability to make an immediate impact at outside linebacker in Dallas’ 3-4 defense or at defensive end in their 4-3 nickel set. I recognize this. But did Dallas really need to trade away THREE picks for a player at a position where they are already very strong? With DeMarcus Ware, Greg Ellis, Kevin Burnette and Bobby Carpenter all playing well at outside linebacker and Ellis, Ware, and Burnette already great options in nickel, why did Dallas give up so much? If Dallas had an absolute NEED to get back into the first round, you’d think they would at least address positions where they had questions or lack of reliable depth. Auburn guard Ben Grubbs, Central Michigan tackle Joe Staley, Texas tackle Justin Blalock and Arkansas Guard Tony Ugoh all come to mind. Blalock and Ugoh were all available when Dallas would have picked at #36.

Dallas got a great player in Spencer. Dallas did a pretty good job with the picks they had left overall. But that trade back into the first round to take a player in a position that they did not have need surprised me.

Speaking of the #36 overall pick … Kevin Kolb? Kolb was a four-year starter at the University of Houston. He has a strong arm and is very intelligent. I don’t know that he was the best value for the Eagles who have Donovan McNabb and just resigned back up AJ Feely. Even if they wanted to start grooming a player for life after McNabb, Michigan State’s Drew Stanton, Stanford’s Trent Edwards, even BYU’s John Beck and Ohio State’s Troy Smith were still available.

But the Eagles overall draft - as always with Andy Reid at the helm - was very good. Taking Penn State running back Tony Hunt in the third round was an absolute steal. Hunt will be a perfect compliment to Westbrook. I just thought the selection of Kolb - not because he is not good - that high was perplexing.

Quite possibly the second biggest reach, right behind the Dolphins taking Ginn Jr., was the selection of Arizona running back Chris Henry by the Tennessee Titans in the second round. Obviously banking on Henry’s smokin’ time in the 40 yard dash at the combine, the Titans grabbed him to give underachieving LenDale White a run for his money. The Titans allowed Travis Henry and Chris Brown to exit via free agency.

The problem I had with this pick in the second round wasn’t because the Titans didn’t need a running back. But with Tony Hunt and even Rutger’s Brian Leonard still on the board, they had guys they could have picked who had actually carried the load at running back. Henry didn’t get much playing time at all his first three season. His senior year, off-the field issues resulted in a suspension. He didn’t actually start a game his entire NCAA career until the final four games of his senior season. Hunt carried the load at Penn State showing he could move the pile, had excellent hands, and while he didn’t exhibit Henry’s blazing speed, his 4.57 40 time is good enough. Leonard has sub 4.5 speed and has shown the ability to be a tailback and fullback. Henry was a risk in the second round that I did not expect any team to undertake. I am especially surprised that the Titans overlooked his off the field issues given recent events surrounding Titans CB Adam "Pacman" Jones.

Anyone can say Louisville RB Michael Bush and Ohio State QB Troy Smith were second day steals. Let’s take a look at some of the prospects that dropped to the final two rounds, and one that went undrafted.

Brandon Siler, a 6′2″, 238 pound linebacker from the NCAA National Champion University of Florida was easily the steal of round seven by the San Diego Chargers. Siler is fast and agile with 4.59 speed. He has fluid hips, flows to the ball well, can knife through gaps to stop the run and drop into coverage. The only knock on Siler is that he sometimes has trouble shedding blocks. He will sometimes try to avoid bigger blockers instead of taking them on and shedding them. With his speed and tremendous work ethic, Siler’s fall to the seventh round is more incredible than Brady Quinn’s drop to the 22nd overall. Siler was picked 240th overall (30th pick of round seven).

Auburn CB David Irons got much less hype than his brother, Auburn running back Kenny Irons. But at the senior bowl, David Irons’ nose for the ball and flat out speed popped a lot of eyes. He showed that he could excel against very good receivers in bump and run and zone coverage. He picked up schemes well and had a knack for finding the ball. At 194th (29th pick of round 6) overall to Atlanta, Irons is a great deal.

Oklahoma linebacker Rufus Alexander was taken by Minnesota 174th (2nd in the 6th round). Alexander is agile and rangy. Possessing 4.62 speed at 6′1″, 227 pounds, Alexander has a knack for being in the right place on the field to make plays. He plays hard against the run but is a bit undersized. He is a bullying pass defender with game speed that surpasses his 40 time.

Undrafted Notre Dame running back Darrius Walker should make a roster somewhere. at 5′10″ 212 Walker isn’t quite big enough to be a mauler but lacks the elite burst and break away speed that would make him a feature back. However, in today’s era of the short yardage specialist, Walker will make a perfect compliment to a team like Tampa Bay who will lose Mike Alstott to retirement sometime soon.