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. 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.

The first round was the longest in the history of the NFL draft, lasting six hours, eight minutes. 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. Russell is considered by many as one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history, and was out of the NFL after only three seasons. 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, 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.

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.

• Louisiana State University set a school record with four players drafted in the first round.

Player selections

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.

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.

References/Notes

General references

• ESPN website – NFL 2007 Draft Archived October 2, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
• SI website – NFL 2007 Draft
• NFL website – 2007 Draft
• "2007 NFL Draft Pick Transactions". ProSportsTransactions.com. Archived from the original on November 5, 2011. Retrieved November 2, 2011.

Specific references