BY KEVIN FRIEDENBERG

In print | Published April 5, 2007

When I think about the month of April, and where I am currently, a single lonely tear slides down my cheek. This will be the first year in a few that I am not able to watch the NFL Draft. Some of you may be wondering, why the hell would he voluntarily watch hour after hour of television just to watch a man announce names?

The NFL Draft is more than just constant camera vacillation between potential draftees and an ESPN staff that includes a vampiric Mel Kiper. This year I will not be able to watch as pro prospects sit in expensive suits and talk on cell phones for hours upon hours. Due to the fact that I won’t be able to partake in that two-day orgy of glazed eyes and old sandwiches, I feel it is my duty to at least make some predictions about this year’s draft.

With the first overall pick in the draft, I think that the Oakland Raiders will pick LSU quarterback Jamarcus Russell. Russell is at the top of the class for his position and this mountain of a man (six feet six inches, 255 pounds) has shown better than his competitor Brady Quinn, that he can handle big-game pressure. Russell is just the guy to fill the quarterback void in Oakland, and I doubt we’ll see any drastic moves like the Houston Texans passing up Reggie Bush with the first pick in 2006.

As for the best overall player in the draft, I give that honor to Georgia Tech wide receiver, Calvin Johnson. Johnson is a physical freak; he is six-foot-four and weighs a solid 225 pounds, which he can move at lightning speed with a time of 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash. According to an inside source, there is no machine at Georgia Tech capable of measuring Johnson’s vertical leap; it is simply off the charts. With hands the size of a baseball glove, Johnson represents the best investment for almost any team that is in dire need of an offensive boost. The fact that defenses will have to compensate for him will create holes for other offensive threats.

The question on my mind, however, is who will draft him? With the second overall pick, the Detroit Lions may be a strong candidate due to their penchant for spending first-round picks on receivers. However, if they have learned from their mistakes, they will take Quinn in the first round to fill a gaping hole at the quarterback position. Assuming the Cleveland Browns will address its lackluster ground game in the first round, I see them drafting Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson with the third pick, which means Johnson could fall to the fourth pick overall to Tampa Bay.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the draft could be how high Ohio State receiver Ted Ginn Jr. might go. Many of you may remember Ginn running back the opening kick-off of the Rose Bowl this year for a touchdown before leaving with a sprained ankle. However, Ginn has bounced back to run a blazing 4.35 on the 40. Though a smaller target than Johnson, Ginn has the versatility to run back kicks, and the shear speed to elude tacklers in the open field. It seems logical to me that Ginn would be an obvious choice for a team whose air game and special teams have left something to be desired — a team like the Atlanta Falcons. Though the Falcons have three first-round receivers on their depth chart with dismal seasons last year, Ginn may just be the catalyst who provides enigmatic quarterback Michael Vick with a stable target.

I would like all of you to mark April 28 on your calendar and to cancel all of your plans that weekend. Few events in sports have more impact on their sport than the NFL Draft. I can only hope that at the time of the draft, I can watch it happen on some sort of live webcast. As I wipe my tear away, I smile, knowing that no team in the NFL can even compete with the New England Patriots, since they have made the most beastly off-season acquisitions.

Kevin is a first-year. You can reach him at kfriede1@swarthmore.edu.

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