The 2007 NFL Draft Poker Game

The Cleveland Browns hold the key to the 2007 NFL Draft in my opinion. The draft is like a poker game where the teams are like players, unwilling to show their hand. The first four teams already have a player targeted and the ideal draft move would be to trade down and still get their man. Everyone knows the Raiders need a quarterback, so no team (except the Vikings) will be willing to trade up to that spot. The Lions have a lot of team needs, a quarterback and a tackle would be nice, so Brady Quinn or Joe Thomas are the likely candidates, after drafting receivers three years in a row in the first round: Charles Rogers, Roy Williams and Mike Williams. There would be a mutiny within the Millen-Marinelli run organization if they drafted yet another receiver in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft.

So that leaves the Browns, the consensus seams to be RB Adrian Peterson, but they picked up RB Jamal Lewis and guard Eric Steinbach in free agency, so that is not a certainty, but Jamaal Lewis was only signed to a one year contract, so a running back is still a strong possibility. We can’t forget the best player in the draft, WR Calvin Johnson, who everyone knows the Buccaneers covet. So even if the Browns do want RB Adrian Peterson, they will pretend to like Johnson with the hope that the Bucs will try to trade up one spot and land the talented receiver from Georgia Tech, Calvin Johnson. So I think the Bucs will try and trade up one or two spots and land Calvin Johnson.

The Browns will probably be able to sit tight or trade down and still land their man Adrian Peterson, and pick up extra picks to boot. That leaves the Cardinals with the choice of OT Joe Thomas, DE Gaines Adams or DT Amobi Okoye; probably Joe Thomas since Matt Leinart needs some protection and they just lost OT Leonard Davis to Dallas in free agency. So the Redskins will be sitting in an enviable position with the choice between two fine players in DE Gaines Adams or DT Amobi Okoye, I think the Skins have really targeted Okoye, but they won’t make that obvious, because the Vikings really want Gaines Adams. Now to make things really confusing the Vikings have to be desperate for a quarterback with the loss of old timer Brad Johnson. The Vikings only list two quarterbacks, Brooks Bollinger and Tarvaris Jackson on their roster, Bollinger is a mildly talented journeyman and Jackson is an unproven, 2nd year quarterback from a small college with poor accuracy. That’s not going to cut it, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Vikings put together a Hershel Walker like trade package and make a move up to land JaMarcus Russell or Brady Quinn. So there you have it, one of the many draft scenarios that might play out in the ever intriguing NFL Draft poker game.