BillsVet Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 Last year, very few surprises occurred on draft day. Trades were few and far between, and the top pick was a mystery to no one. I figured it'd be interesting to see what the first rounders did in Year 1. 1. JaMarcus Russell QB OAK Lone start was final game of season; 36-66 with 373 yards passing, 2TD's and 4 INT's. The future of the franchise. (assuming Davis doesn't take McFadden) 2. Calvin Johnson WR DET 48 receptions for 756 yards and 1 TD. 4 carries for 52 yards. Detroit's 4th WR selected since 2003 has the skills and size to dominate. Should improve in 2008. 3. Joe Thomas OLT CLE Perhaps the best of the entire draft, Thomas allowed one sack on opening day and did not yield one the rest of the season. Consensus all rookie team, probably should have been a Pro Bowler. 4. Gaines Adams DE TB Finished season with 6 sacks and 27 tackles. Started 8 games, played in all 16. 5. Levi Brown OT AZ Started 11 games, played 13. Came on toward end of season and will protect Leinart's blindside by playing RT. 6. Laron Landry S WAS Initially teamed with Sean Taylor, took over for the late star. Has great range and started all 16 games. 2 picks in Redskins' first round playoff loss. 7. Adrian Peterson RB MIN Despite a passing game scaring no one, Peterson led the NFL in rushing, with a single game record of 296 yards versus San Diego. Great combination of size and speed, though runs upright. Gamebreaker. 8. Jamaal Anderson DE ATL Recorded no sacks, but started all 16 games. Played tough against the run. Figures to be more active in 08, especially with help on the DL. 9. Ted Ginn WR/KR MIA 34 catches for 420 yards and 2 TD's. Returned 1 punt for TD. Will be counted on heavily this season for woeful Dolphins team. 10. Amobi Okoye DT HOU Started 14 games, but tailed by the end of the season. 23 tackles with 5.5 sacks, he will be (along with DeMeco Ryans) the heart of Houston's defense for many years. 11. Patrick Willis LB SF Defensive Rookie of the Year. 137 tackles and 4 sacks. Started all 16 games and will in all probability become SF's defensive leader. 12. Marshawn Lynch RB BUF Need we say more? No one leaves it on the field as much as Lynch. Signature play occurred versus Cincinnati when he eluded tacklers in backfield and turned it into long TD run. 280 carries, 1115 yards and 7 TD's. 13. Adam Carriker DL STL Recorded 21 tackles with 2 sacks and started all 16 games. Scary to think of him paired with Glenn Dorsey. 14. Darrelle Revis CB NYJ Jests traded up to get Revis, who started all 16 games. Picked off 3 passes along with making 74 tackles. 15. Lawrence Timmons LB PIT Played in all 16 games, but started none. Could not supplant veterans ahead of him, but will be featured as rush backer in Steeler scheme. 11 tackles. 16. Justin Harrell DT GB Started 2 games and played in 7. Was injured much of the year. Probably most maligned pick of first round, will be counted on more with the departure of Corey Williams. 10 tackles total. 17. Jarvis Moss DE DEN Went on IR middle of season. Started 1 game, played in 6. 9 tackles and 1 sack. 18. Leon Hall CB CIN Started 10 games and led team in INT's with 5. Added 55 tackles. 19. Michael Griffin S-CB TEN Moved to safety and excelled with 10 starts. Intercepted 3 passes and made 41 tackles. 20. Aaron Ross CB NYG Made 9 starts and played in 15 games. Hurt in NFC Title Game, picked 3 passes, with 35 tackles and 1.5 sacks. 21. Reggie Nelson S JAC Started 15 games at FS. Made 5 INT's and 58 tackles. 22. Brady Quinn QB CLE Freefalling at draft, was not able to take starting job from Derek Anderson. Will most likely remain in backup role. 3-8 for 45 yards in entire season. 23. Dwayne Bowe WR KC Fine freshman season with 70 catches for 995 yards and 5 TD's on a horrendous offense. Only limitation will be the QB. 24. Brandon Meriweather S NE Played in all 16 games, started none. Disappointing season with only 18 tackles. NE's draft record may take a hit with this one. 25. Jon Beason LB CAR Next to Willis, the best rookie defensive player. Started all 16 games, making 106 tackles. Play improved when he moved to the inside when oft-injured Dan Morgan was out. Team MVP. 26. Anthony Spencer DE DAL Played well when playing for Greg Ellis. Started 6 games and made 3 sacks. 27. Robert Meachem WR NO Perhaps the worst season a rookie could have, short of injury. Meachem did not see the field, and was not physically in shape to handle the NFL. 28. Joe Staley OLT SF Staley started all 16 games out of Central Michigan. Pick acquired when SF traded their 08 1st (7th overall) to NE. Very athletic, will man the blindside this year. 29. Ben Grubbs G BAL Started 12 games and played in all 16. Is entrenched as a started on Baltimore's OL for awhile. 30. Craig Davis WR SD Another LSU wideout (along with Bowe) Davis started only one game and was replaced when Chris Chambers was acquired. 20 receptions for 188 yards and 1 TD. 31. Greg Olsen TE CHI Caught 39 passes for 391 yards and 2 scores. Started 4 games and played in 14. Will be counted on more heavily, especially with Grossman at QB. 32. Anthony Gonzalez WR IND Defending champs selected a WR to many prognosticator's surprise. Played the slot and before injury, had 37 receptions for 376 yards and 3 TD's All in all, the 07 first rounders made contributions to their teams. Half the picks made significant contributions or were outstanding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UB2SF Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 Great post! If I had the time (or maybe just wasn't so lazy) I'd look at how this compares to previous/recent years. There's always so much hype about Round 1, when it seems like the reality is that Round 1 is often just as mediocre as Rounds 2 and 3 in terms of immediate-impact players. It's surprising to see how much production was generated out of 2007's Round 1. I'm just glad that our pick stands out among the top-tier of these great picks. Can you imagine if Mike Williams or Erik Flowers was on that list? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stl Bills Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 pretty sure Calvin Johnson had more than 1 TD..............just too lazy to look it up and I think Joe Thomas did go to the Pro Bowl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 great post, great analysis. id be interested to see how it compared to other drafts 1 year later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt. Dan's Revenge Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 pretty sure Calvin Johnson had more than 1 TD..............just too lazy to look it up and I think Joe Thomas did go to the Pro Bowl. Right on both accounts, Calvin had four, and Thomas was in Hawaii. Interesting stuff though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsVet Posted April 12, 2008 Author Share Posted April 12, 2008 pretty sure Calvin Johnson had more than 1 TD..............just too lazy to look it up and I think Joe Thomas did go to the Pro Bowl. Thanks for the correction. Johnson did indeed have 4 TD receptions. Thomas I believe was an alternate who went to Hawaii when Peters wasn't able to participate, IIRC. I think it'd be good to do an 2006 version as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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