The 2007 NFL Draft is in the books. Some teams are on the way up, others will maintain their dominance and the rest are headed for the bottom of the barrel. Let’s take a look at the Draft’s winners and losers.

Biggest Winners:

Detroit Lions
The Lions got the best player in the Draft, WR Calvin Johnson, and still snagged a franchise quarterback with their second pick in Drew Stanton of Michigan State. The Lions were also able to trade bust wide out Mike Williams and snag productive DE Ikaika Alama-Francis from Hawaii. Matt Millen’s best draft in recent years.

Minnesota Vikings
Adrian Peterson, maybe the second best player in the draft, fell all the way to seventh and the Vikings were smart enough to snag him. They also added three wide recievers to improve their weak passing game, including Sidney Rice from South Carolina. Defensive end Brian Robinson from Texas is a steal in the fourth round. Some think he benefited from being opposite of Tim Crowder, but he will still be a good pro.

Oakland Raiders
The Raiders best move was that they didn’t cave in and take Calvin Johnson and they didn’t trade out. They got their future quarterback, a great running back in Michael Bush in the fourth round, and TE Zach Miller who will be a great target for JaMarcus Russell someday. They addressed all their offensive needs, and got Randy Moss shipped to New England. Maybe Mike Williams will do well for a change of pace (don’t count on it) but at least they traded for a QB of today (Josh McCown) as Russell waits to become the QB of tomorrow.

Biggest Losers
Washington Redskins
With only one pick in the first four rounds, the Redskins could not afford to blow it in the No. 6 spot. They did. LaRon Landry was the best defensive player available at that pick, but he plays a position already filled by uber-talented safety Sean Taylor. Both are in-the-box type safeties, and the Redskins still need a cover safety. As one of the worst teams in 2006, the only second-day player they drafted with any flare was Carson Palmer’s brother, QB Jordan Palmer from UTEP.

Philadelphia Eagles
After trading down, the Eagles made their first selection in round two and grabbed QB Kevin Kolb, a system quarterback out of Houston. It’s not that Kolb will have a terrible pro career, only time will tell that, but Kolb could’ve been picked in the third or even fourth round, considering Trent Edwards, a much more polished prospect, wasn’t taken until late on the first day. RB Tony Hunt is a solid selection, but the team failed to bring in help at wide receiver, its biggest need along with corner back, which wasn’t even addressed until round six.

Indianapolis Colts
Paul Posluszny was staring them right in the face. The Super Bowl champs could have immediately helped one of the worst run defenses in the NFL by drafting the most proven OLB in the draft. Instead, they went offense and took Anthony Gonzalez, a career slot receiver at best. Defensive tackle, another big need, wasn’t taken until their fourth pick, when they could’ve even gotten Alan Branch with their first pick, too. Posulzny or Branch would have been great picks, instead, they went offense and then offense again. I thought Tony Dungey was a defensive-minded coach.

Best Defensive Pick:
San Francisco 49ers selecting Patrick Willis, ILB, Ole Miss
Will bring an immediate pressence and will anchor the 49ers defense.

Best Offensive Pick:
Detroit Lions selecting Calvin Johnson, WR, Georgia Tech
The best player in the draft comes to a team that will need him immediately, even though they’ve drafted three other WRs with top picks recently.

Worst Defensive Pick:
Tampa Bay selecting Gaines Adams, DE, Clemson
Not worthy of the No. 4 pick. Tampa Bay thought they were going to be able to trade up for Johnson, but settled for a DE that only plays half the time, and can’t help in the run game.

Worst Offensive Pick:
Miami Dophins selecting Ted Ginn Jr., WR, Ohio State
Ginn might fully heal from his foot quickly and will be able to help in the return game, but as a wideout, he’s a two-three receiver at best. Will be a Dante Hall at worst, but a Antwan Randle El at best. Is either worth the No. 9 pick?

Biggest Steals:
Arizona Cardinals selecting Alan Branch, DT, Michigan at No. 33
Big run stopper. More NFL ready than Omobe Okoye.

Buffalo Bill selecting Trent Edwards, QB, Stanford at No. 92
Better than Kolb for sure, Buffalo benefitted from teams not needing a quarterback. No one’s sold on J.P. Losman and Edwards will be a good backup/future starter when Losman fails.

Oakland Raiders selecting Michael Bush, RB, Louisville at No. 100
If it wasn’t for a foot injury, Bush would have rivaled Marshawn Lynch for the top RB behind Adrian Peterson. Will start over Lamont Jordan by week nine.

Most Overvalued Picks:
Houston Texans selecting Omobi Okoye, DT, Louisville at No. 10
He’s 19. He’s small. He may be good, but not soon enough for the Texans.

Cleveland Browns selecting Brady Quinn, QB, Notre Dame at No. 22
For any other team, this is a steal. But not when you trade next year’s first round selection, which is almost guarenteed to be a top-10 pick. If Brady isn’t worth the No. 3 pick this year, why is 2008 any different?

Philadelphia Eagles selecting Kevin Kolb, QB, Houston at No. 36
I don’t care what Chris Mortenson said, no one had Kolb rated higher than Edwards or Stanton. One question: Why?

Offensive Rookie of the Year:
Marshawn Lynch, RB, California selected by Buffalo Bills
He’ll immediately be the feature back after Willis McGahee got traded. The offensive line is pretty solid and he’ll carry the ball quite a bit since Lossman isn’t the best of quarterbacks.

Defensive Rookie of the Year:
Adam Carriker, DE, Nebraska selected by St. Louis Rams
Fast DE + Turf = Sacks. He’s 6′6′’, had 15 sacks last season and runs a 4.85 forty, which isn’t amazing but he’s faster on the field than he is on the track. So explosive and will save the Rams defense.

Alan Ball, Cornerback.

Ball (6′1′’, 176) was drafted in the seventh round by the Dallas Cowboys with the 237th pick, the Cowboys’ eigth overall selection. Ball had one interception and eight passes defended along with 62 tackles for the Illini last season. The Detroit native will join a secondary that includes Aaron Glenn, Terrance Newman and Anthony Henry at corners, as well as Roy Williams at safety. The Cowboys also drafted fellow Big Ten player Anthony Spencer from Purdue. Ball is the one of two defensive backs drated by the Cowboys, Courtney Brown of Cal Poly being the other, who was drafted just ahead of Ball with the Cowboys’ seventh pick.

Ball was not a standout during his time at Illinois, and by the end of his career he had been replaced by Vontae Davis as the top corner on the team. But Ball did have to go against the likes of Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez, and has played against top-notch quarterbacks like John Stocco, Drew Stanton and Troy Smith. He has a nose for the ball (no pun intened) and is a physical corner who’s not afraid to make a tackle. As a four-year starter, Ball tallied 198 tackles and was twice named the team’s Defensive Back of the Year.

“It definitely was a surprise because I hadn’t talked to Dallas much before today,” Ball said in a press release. “I did a lot of sleeping today with one eye open, watching the draft. I was projected to go in the fifth through seventh rounds and I had hoped it would be earlier, but right now I am very excited to be where I am. About halfway through the seventh round, I got on the phone with my agent, Wynn Silberman, to talk about what free agent options I had, and then my phone clicked and it was Dallas, telling me I was a Cowboy. I really like their aggressive style of play and I know I can be a good fit for the Cowboys. I like my odds with them.”

Ball isn’t a lock to make the team, but will contend for a spot. While the Cowboy secondary is talented, it’s also getting pretty old. Ball would be a breath of fresh air and with 4.45 forty time, he’s no slouch.

Still waiting

Pierre Thomas, Running back
Because Thomas split carries with both EB Halsey and Rashard Mendenhall, his draft stock might have gone down. However, Thomas had a high yards per carry and helped lead the Illini to one of the best rushing attacks in the Big Ten. He most likely won’t get picked but should sign with a team as an undrafted free agent.

Matt Maddux, Offensive linemen
Maddux participated in one of the many college all-star games and was hoping to draw some attention. He’s had some horrific injuries in the past which might be way teams are shying away, but like Thomas, he will sign with a team as an undrafted free agent.

With the 167th and 168th pick, the Chicago Bears selected a pair of defensive backs to add depth in the secondary. Kevin Payne, a DB from Lousiana-Monroe was taken at 167, while Corey Graham, a true corner from New Hampshire, was taken at 168. The Bears needed to add depth in the defensive backfield with the probability that Charles Tillman will not be resigned when his contract is up.

I was hoping the Bears would use one of the picks to address wide receiver, but at least they didn’t waste the picks. Payne will most likely play safety, a position that needed back ups with the uncertainty of Mike Brown’s health and the lack of consistent play from a once very good Adam Archuletta. Payne has decent size ( 6′0′’ ) and speed (4.6 forty), and as a four-year starter he has built himself into a solid talent. Better against the run than the pass, but he’s not afraid of contact and will be critical on special teams. Graham, on the other hand, is a little more of a gamble. He has not gone against quality receivers, but he does have good build and speed. He also will be used on special teams.

Up next for the Bears …

The Bears don’t have a sixth round pick, so they will pick next in the seventh round at 221 and 241. Can they find the next Marcus Coleston? They need to at least try.

With the 130th pick in the NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears selected Josh Beekman, a guard out of Boston College. Beekman will bring immediate depth to the offensive line at both the center and gaurd position. With age a concern with veteran guard Ruben Brown, Beekman will be the heir when Brown hangs up the cleats (or goes somewhere else since he’s only signed to a one-year deal). And he’ll be learning from one of the best, as Brown is a proven Pro Bowl linemen who has blocked for some top running backs over the course of his career. This was a great pick for the Bears and get one of the best players available in the Day Two pool at a position I didn’t think they would have addressed at this point. But not only was Beekman the best player available, but he takes care of a huge need that the Bears probably would have filled in the first round if guard Ben Grubbs wasn’t picked right before their pick by the Baltimore Ravens. This turned out for the best though, as both Beekman and Greg Olsen will have good NFL careers.

Up next for the Bears …

The Bears will have two picks at the end of the fifth round (167, 168). One of those picks will be used on a corner and one of them should be used on wide reciever. But some good linebackers are available as well, and you can never have too many of those.