The 2007 NFL Draft is about to start, and the Oakland Raiders are on the board with the first pick UPDATE: The Raiders have apparently already taken QB JaMarcus Russell from LSU with the first pick. I know this isn't really a "getting Democrats elected" topic, but I figured I'd live-blog the first round of the draft, and give my fellow Kossacks a place to come rave, rant, or in my case, cry in the corner while mumbling something about "Pacman."
You see, my team is the Tennessee Titans. Last year, we drafted quarterback Vince Young from Texas with the third pick. Coming off of back-to-back 4-12 seasons, we needed a hero to pull us out of the dumps. And VY delivered--Titans coach Jeff Fisher started him after Kerry Collins went 0-4, and Young turned that into an 8-8 season, including back-to-back wins over the Manning brothers, bringing us thiiiiis close to making the playoffs. We had so much momentum to build on, and it seemed like next season would be the best one since the glory days of Steve McNair and Eddie George.
And then cornerback Pacman Jones just HAD to go to Vegas and "make it rain" in the strip club. And then someone is his posse just HAD to shoot and injure a bouncer.
As a result of the incident, Pacman has been suspended from the NFL for an entire season. Now, I may be biased, but I still think it's unfair--Pacman has not yet been charged with anything, and despite Dubya's best efforts, you are still innocent until proven guilty in this country. Pacman's going to appeal his suspension, but it doesn't look too good for him.
Meanwhile, in the furor over Pacman, the news about how we managed to lose half the offense to the free agency got lost. So today, the Titans are going into this draft with several needs:
--Most pressing, we need a WR. We lost our two starting WRs, Drew Bennett and Bobby Wade. Come on folks, Vince Young can work a lot of other miracles, but he still can't throw the ball to himself.
--Another RB. Last year, former University of Tennessee star Travis Henry, who had previously been a disappointment, had a breakout year. In addition, in the second round of last year's draft, we took USC star LenDale White, and the two proved a great duo. However, we lost Henry to the free agency as well. It's still uncertain whether LenDale is ready to start, and there are many questions about his attitude. However, with the rumors swirling about how the Titans will attempt to sign former New England Patriots RB Corey Dillon, it's unlikely the Titans will use a high pick for a RB.
--A cornerback. We've already signed Nick Harper from the Colts, but obviously we're going to need more. If Pacman gets his act together and doesn't misbehave, it's possible his suspension could be shortened to 10 games, and he could be back in November. However, any Titans fan will tell you that's a big IF.
--We could also REALLY use a defensive end or a tight end.
We have the 19th pick, so I'm thinking we'll use that either on a WR or a CB. Calvin Johnson from Georgia Tech will probably be long gone by the time we pick, so if we do take a WR, Ted Ginn Jr. from Ohio State seems to be a good fit. He has the added bonus of being able to do kick returns, something else we lost with Pacman's suspension. If we take a CB, I like Aaron Ross from Texas--he's very fast and can also do returns. And it seems like we're doing quite well with our draft picks from Texas.
So, talk to me. What does your team need? Who do you think are the best prospects in this draft class, and who's overrated? And as the draft goes on, who's getting the best picks?