Russell goes No. 1; Quinn falls to 22

New York, NY - The Oakland Raiders, as was widely speculated, chose Louisiana State quarterback JaMarcus Russell with the first overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft on Saturday.

The 6-foot-6, 265-pound Russell led the Tigers to an 11-2 record in his junior season last year, including a 41-14 romp over Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl. It was that performance against the Fighting Irish -- 332 yards passing and two touchdowns -- that pushed him past Notre Dame's own star quarterback Brady Quinn as the most coveted signal caller in the draft.

'We are extremely excited with this pick. This is someone that can come in and help us win games,' Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin said. 'We researched him all the way back to high school and everyone said he was a natural leader. This is the right guy for us and this is the right time. It was perfect. This is what needed to happen for the Raiders right now. This is a great day.'

Russell threw for 3,129 yards with 28 touchdowns and just eight interceptions last season for LSU. He compiled a 25-4 record as a starter in his three seasons with the Tigers and ranks in the top five all-time for the school in most major passing categories.

'I'm ready to go in and work hard and make sure the guys are working hard with me. This is a new year and I'm ready to be a part of that process,' Russell said. 'I'm ready to go out there and hear the Raiders Anthem and hear things go wild and I'm happy to be a part of that. I'm very fortunate to have the opportunity and chance and now I'm ready to go in and compete. I'm ready to go to work.'

Russell also edged out Georgia Tech's versatile wide receiver Calvin Johnson, who many experts consider as the most talented player in the draft.

Johnson, however, didn't have to wait very long as the Detroit Lions selected him with the second pick. Johnson, a two-time All American, caught 76 passes for 1,202 yards and 15 touchdowns in his junior season last year.

It marks the fourth time in the last five years that the Lions selected a wideout in the first round.

Johnson said he was wasn't upset about not being picked first.

'There's no disappointment,' Johnson said. 'Going into the situation that we're going into, I don't think anybody knew exactly what was going to happen except for the Raiders. So whatever happened is what happened, but I think this is the best thing for me.'

Quinn, on the other hand, had to wait more than four hours until his name was called at the 22nd selection by the Cleveland Browns, who sent their second- round pick (36th overall) and their 2008 first-round pick to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for Quinn.

'I had been thrown all around the draft board so many different places -- you do have to play out the scenario,' Quinn said. 'At a certain point when you're past those teams that you've built some sort of relationship with, you're entering an unknown and you don't really know what's going to happen. You're going to be talking with coaches and people you haven't really had a chance to work with at all.'

Quinn, winner of the Maxwell Award (top college player) and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (top senior quarterback), set a Notre Dame record with 37 touchdown passes while throwing for 3,426 yards and just seven interceptions this past season. He is the only quarterback in school history to throw for more than 3,000 yards in a season, having accomplished the feat twice. In 2005, set a school- record with 3,919 passing yards to go along with 32 TDs.

Quinn holds 36 school records and ranks among the top 10 in NCAA Division 1-A history in both passing yards (11,762) and passing touchdowns (95).

Cleveland's first pick was the third overall selection in the draft and the Browns took left tackle Joe Thomas from Wisconsin. Thomas, another two-time All-American, won the Outland Trophy as the nation's top lineman.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who had reportedly tried to trade up for Johnson, drafted defensive end Gaines Adams with the fourth selection.

Gaines completed an impressive senior season at Clemson, compiling 62 tackles and 12.5 sacks. For his efforts, he was named a first-team All-American and the ACC Defensive Player of the Year.

The Arizona Cardinals, with the No. 5 pick, went with protection for second- year quarterback Matt Leinart, drafting offensive tackle Levi Brown out of Penn State.

Russell's teammate, safety LaRon Landry, was taken with the sixth selection by the Washington Redskins. Landry was an All-SEC performer in all four of his seasons at LSU and was named a First Team All-American as a senior. Starting in 48 of 52 games, Landry collected 315 tackles and 12 interceptions.

The Minnesota Vikings went with the top running back in the draft with the seventh selection, taking Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson.

Peterson exploded on the college scene in 2004, rushing for 1,925 yards to set a single-season freshman rushing record.

Despite having about half of his junior season cut short last year with a broken collarbone, Peterson still rushed for 1,012 yards and 12 touchdowns.

The Atlanta Falcons drafted defensive end Jamaal Anderson with the No. 8 pick. Anderson ranked third in the nation with 13.5 sacks last season for Arkansas.

Plagued by quarterback issues since the departure of Hall-of-Fame QB Dan Marino, many experts thought Miami would pick Quinn with the ninth selection. The Dolphins, though, selected explosive wideout/kick returner Ted Ginn Jr. out of Ohio State.

With the 10th pick, the Houston Texans drafted Louisville defensive tackle Amobi Okoye, who at 19 years and 322 days old is the youngest first-round selection since 1967.

San Francisco used the 11th pick to draft Mississippi linebacker Patrick Willis, winner of the 2006 Butkus Award and the Jack Lambert Award while Buffalo went with California running back Marshawn Lynch at No. 12.

The Bills traded Willis McGahee, the team's leading rusher last year, to the Baltimore Ravens in March.

The St. Louis Rams used the 13th selection to draft Nebraska defensive end Adam Carriker.

The Jets and Panthers then pulled off the first trade of the day as New York sent its first (25), second (59) and fifth (164) round draft picks to Carolina in exchange for the 14th overall pick and the Panthers' sixth round selection (191).

New York used the pick to select the first cornerback of the draft, Darrelle Revis from Pittsburgh. The Steelers used the 15th selection to fill in the hole left by the departure of Joey Porter, selecting Florida State linebacker Lawrence Timmons.

Then, after the Green Bay Packers took DT Justin Harrell from Tennessee at No. 16, the Denver Broncos acquired the 17th pick from Jacksonville and took Florida defensive end Jarvis Moss.

The Jaguars received the Broncos' first (21), third (86) and sixth-round (198) picks, taking Florida safety Reggie Nelson with the 21st pick.

The Cincinnati Bengals drafted cornerback Leon Hall from Michigan at the 18th pick and Tennessee chose Texas safety Michael Griffin at No. 19.

Griffin's teammate, cornerback Aaron Ross, was drafted by the New York Giants at No. 20.

At No. 23, the Kansas City Chiefs bolstered their receiving corps by taking LSU wideout Dwayne Bowe. The New England Patriots grabbed Miami safety Brandon Meriweather with the 24th pick and Carolina selected Meriweather's collegiate teammate linebacker Jon Beason at No. 25.

The Eagles traded the 26th pick to Dallas in exchange for this year's second (36), third (87) and fifth (159) picks and the Cowboys took Purdue defensive end Anthony Spencer.

The New Orleans Saints selected Tennessee wide receiver Robert Meachem at No. 27, before New England traded its second first-round pick -- the 28th overall -- to San Francisco, which selected offensive lineman Joe Staley from Central Michigan.

With the 29th pick, the Baltimore Ravens selected offensive lineman Ben Grubbs from Auburn. The Chargers chose LSU wide receiver Craig Davis with the 30th selection, Chicago picked Miami tight end Greg Olsen with No. 31 and the Indianapolis Colts rounded out the first round by taking Ohio State wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez.

The first three rounds were finished Saturday with the final four rounds taking place Sunday.