Cleveland Browns the darlings of the 2007 NFL Draft

We usually have a NFL "Draft Party" every year in April when the NFL teams pick the best of the college players to be on their team. Over pizza, caramel popcorn, brownies, and soft drinks, we and our friends AJ & Meera would usually celebrate our teams the Browns, the 49ers, and the Chargers picking "early". (The worst teams from the previous year pick early. The winner of the Super Bowl pick last.) This year we didn't have our party, but we celebrated the picks via cell phone with each other. But I digress. The hated rival of the San Diego Chargers, the Oakland Raiders, got to pick #1, because they were the worst (32nd) team in the NFL last year (hee hee). They picked quarterback JaMarcus Russell from LSU. Next up was the Detroit Lions. They picked wide-receiver Calvin Johnson from Georgia Tech. Todd was really relieved at this point, because he thought both of those guys were over-rated, so it's like the Browns got a #1 draft pick. The Cleveland Browns picked third. They picked left tackle Joe Thomas from U of Wisconsin. They considered Brady Quinn, the celebrated quarterback from Notre Dame, but picked Joe Thomas to shore up the offensive line. Todd thought it was a good pick and was satisfied. Low and behold, Brady Quinn, who was thought to be a top 3 pick, hadn't been picked by the time the 9th pick came around. Everyone thought the Miami Dolphins would pick him at #9, but they picked Ted Ginn Jr, wide-receiver from THE Ohio State University instead (yay!). That was a huge surprise to everyone, including Quinn. After that, Brady Quinn kept getting passed by team after team. All of a sudden, we've finished 21 picks already. What did the Browns do? They traded some picks with the Cowboys, who were supposed to pick at #22. And with the 22nd pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, ladies and gentleman, the Cleveland Browns picked QB Brady Quinn from Notre Dame! With the first round of the NFL draft concluding, the Browns have already shored up two major positions on offense. What a turn of events! The Browns became the darling of the NFL Draft, being rated the #1 biggest winner in the draft by ESPN. We're excited as well. :-)