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) and 32 compensatory selections.^[3] 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.

The first round was the longest in the history of the NFL draft, lasting six hours, eight minutes.^[4] 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.^[5][6][7] Russell is considered by many as one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history,^[8][9][10] and was out of the NFL after only three seasons. Quinn also had a largely unsuccessful pro career.^[11]

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.^[12]

As of 2025, only one player from the 2007 draft class remains active in the NFL: Jets placekicker Nick Folk.

Player breakdown

The following is the breakdown of the 255 players by position:

• Nine Florida Gators were drafted, more than any other university. Ohio State was second with eight players selected. However, only one of the 17 players drafted from the two universities has made it to a Pro Bowl, Reggie Nelson.
• Of the 40 underclassmen who entered the draft, 29 were selected.^[13]
• Louisiana State University set a school record with four players drafted in the first round.^[14]

Player selections

Supplemental draft selections

For each player selected in the supplemental draft, the selecting team forfeits its selection in that round in the draft of the following season.

Notable undrafted players

Hall of Famers

• Calvin Johnson, wide receiver from Georgia Tech, taken 1st round, 2nd overall by the Detroit Lions.

Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 2021.

• Joe Thomas, offensive tackle from Wisconsin, taken 1st round, 3rd overall by the Cleveland Browns.

Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 2023.

• Darrelle Revis, cornerback from Pittsburgh, taken 1st round, 14th overall by the New York Jets.

Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 2023.

• Patrick Willis, linebacker from Ole Miss, taken 1st round, 11th overall by the San Francisco 49ers.

Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024.

Trades

In the explanations below, (PD) indicates trades completed prior to the start of the draft (i.e. Pre-Draft), while (D) denotes trades that took place during the 2007 draft.

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Notes

1. ^ Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro Bowl at any time in their career.
2. ^ Players are identified as a Hall of Famer if they have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

References

General references

• ESPN website – NFL 2007 Draft Archived October 2, 2007 at the Wayback Machine
• SI website – NFL 2007 Draft Archived May 14, 2007 at the Wayback Machine
• NFL website – 2007 Draft Archived August 13, 2011 at the Wayback Machine
• "2007 NFL Draft Pick Transactions". ProSportsTransactions.com. Archived November 5, 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 2, 2011.

Specific references

1. ^ "NFL Draft Locations". FootballGeography.com. October 2, 2014. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
2. ^ Salomone, Dan (October 2, 2014). "NFL Draft headed to Chicago in 2015". Giants.com. New York Giants. Archived from the original on September 30, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
3. ^ "NFL announces 32 compensatory draft picks". NFL. March 26, 2007. Archived from the original on April 1, 2007. Retrieved May 30, 2010.
4. ^ King, Peter (April 28, 2007). "The first round's good, bad and ugly". Inside the NFL. SI.com. Archived from the original on June 22, 2011. Retrieved April 28, 2007.
5. ^ "ESPN.com's 2007 mock draft". ESPN. April 26, 2007. Archived January 8, 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 31, 2011.
6. ^ Banks, Don (January 26, 2006). "Mock Draft No. 1-An early look at the upcoming rookie class". SI.com. Archived from the original on June 22, 2011. Retrieved October 31, 2011.
7. ^ "USA TODAY's 2007 NFL mock draft (as of April 23)". USA Today. April 30, 2007. Archived January 3, 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 31, 2011.
8. ^ Parziale, James. "NFL's Biggest Draft Busts". New York Daily News. Archived October 30, 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
9. ^ Alder, James. "Top 10 NFL Draft Busts". About.com Sports. About.com. Archived October 27, 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
10. ^ Wyche, Steve. "Russell supplants Leaf atop list of all-time draft busts". NFL.com. Archived November 18, 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
11. ^ Schwab, Frank (31 July 2014). "Former Browns bust Brady Quinn gives up playing for broadcast booth". Yahoo! Sports. Archived November 17, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
12. ^ Santorsa, Tony (16 February 2012). "Power Ranking Every NFL Draft Class of the Last 25 Years". Bleacher Report. Archived September 25, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
13. ^ McKnight, Michael (April 27, 2011). "For many underclassmen, NFL Draft is a humbling experience". SI.com. Archived from the original on May 1, 2011. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
14. ^ "Russell First of Four Tigers in NFL Draft First round". LSUSports.net. April 27, 2011. Archived February 3, 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 2, 2011.

Trade references