Organized Chaos

This was the entry that caused a stink with the Oakland Raiders’ faithful. They helped me achive 1,000 hits in less than 24 hours. 

The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the NFL Draft is Monday, but the list already is impressive. The Class of 2007 is shaping up to be one of the best ever.

Ohio State’s Anthony Gonzalez and Notre Dame’s Darius Walker were the latest underclassmen to add their names to the list, with Oklahoma’s Adrian Peterson expected to also make the jump to the pro ranks. As of 2:30 p.m. Thursday, the early-entry list included 23 players, with none from Florida yet (Jarvis Moss announced the jump Friday, while Bubba Caldwell is staying). Darius Walker announced Thursday that he’ll enter the NFL Draft.

The current group is an all-star team on their own. Some of them are Georgia Tech wide receiver Calvin Johnson, South Carolina wide receiver Sidney Rice, Southern California wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett, LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell, California running back Marshawn Lynch, Louisville running back Michael Bush, Clemson cornerback C.J. Gaddis, Miami tight end Greg Olsen and FSU linebacker Lawrence Timmons.

The complete list can be seen at ESPN.

These players are in addition to seniors such as Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, Wisconsin offensive tackle Joe Thomas, Clemson defensive end Gaines Adams, Penn State linebacker Paul Posluszny and Texas safety Michael Griffin, just to name a few.

Underclassmen have until Friday to withdraw their application for the draft. The NFL will then announce the final list on that day.

The Oakland Raiders, the worst team of this season and possibly the last 10 years, have the first pick, followed by Detroit, Cleveland and Tampa Bay (with the draft position for those two teams determined by a coin flip). Three of those four teams, excluding Tampa for at least another season or two, need quarterbacks. Three of the four teams, again excluding Tampa, would love a franchise running back.

UPDATE, Friday, Jan. 12, 5 p.m.: What I mean by the whole “possibly the worst team in 10 years” is that this year’s Oakland team may not be able to beat some of the worst over the past 10 years, with close games against the 2001 Panthers and the 2000 Chargers because the Raiders’ offense is just horrid.

My early guess is Russell goes at No. 1, followed by Quinn at No. 2. I think Cleveland then would go for the best lineman or maybe Johnson. The early-entry running backs are risky due to injury issues, but Peterson could also go here.

You can view the current draft order here. The playoffs decide the bottom order.

Who would you like your team to draft? Any ideas as to who the best player is?

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