by Jeff McIntyre

Created on: January 15, 2007   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

The April NFL Draft is every fan's favorite event, if your team is not in the Super Bowl that is. This is the one time of year that every fan has hope, because the season is yet to begin and everyone hopes their team's owners selects their "savior" in the draft.
With that in mind, here are this author's predictions on the top 10 picks in the 2007 April draft.

1. Oakland Raiders- Jamarcus Russell/QB/LSU- Oakland has to make this pick. They are in dire need of a boost on offense, and with their offensive line they need a guy who can be mobile and take a beating at the same time. This guy is built from the same mold as Daunte Culpepper and Vince Young, and should see plenty of playing time in his rookie season.

2. Detroit Lions- Brady Quinn/QB/Notre Dame- Although I'm sure Detroit will be tempted to draft yet another receiver, with the speedy and lengthy Calvin Johnson of Georgia Tech on the board, Matt Millen knows if he doesn't draft a quarterback Lions fans may decide to stop going to home games and watch the figure skating fillers on ESPN instead.

3. Tampa Bay Bucs- Gaines Adams/DE/Clemson- Tampa Bay looking to replace aging defensive anchor Simeon Rice.

4. Cleveland Browns- Calvin Johnson/WR/Georgia Tech- Even though Cleveland could use some help at RB, due to Droughns frequent injuries, they can't pass up a player the caliber of Johnson.

5. Arizona Cardinals- Joe Thomas/OT/Wisconsin- Ken Whisenhunt had some good offensive lineman protecting Big Ben in Pittsburgh, and he knows that this is the one thing missing from his new club. Big Joe Thomas will become the anchor of this line to protect Leinart's blindside. They have the key positions in place, now time to build a foundation.

6. Washington Redskins- Alan Branch/DT/Michigan- Although the skins sure could use some help behind center, they also need to increase their level of play on the D-line. Branch is a solid run stopper.

7. Minnesota Vikings- Dwayne Jarrett/WR/USC- The Vikings need to figure out a passing game to take the pressure off of Chester Taylor. They are very thin at WR and look for Jarrett to quickly become the #2 guy.

8. Houston Texans- Adrian Peterson/RB/Oklahoma- The Texans showed some improvement this year, knockinh off some big teams like the Colts, they are in dire need of a running back that can keep defenses off balanced and not teeing off on David Carr. Hopefully Peterson is fully recovered from his knee injury and becomes an instant impact player for Houston.

9. Miami Dolphins- Leon Hall/CB/Michigan- Miami will look to the top corner in the draft to help their struggling secondary.

10. Atlanta Falcons- Amobi Okoye/DT/Louisville- Okay, so this will be considered a Bobby Petrino homer pick, but if you understand the defensive makeup of the Falcons, you would know that they do not have a formidable defensive line. It comes down to Dorsey from LSU or Okoye, and why not go with the guy you know.

Good luck to all of you fans out there.... Remember, we're all in first place in April and we all hope that this year's draft class will be the key to our team's success.

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