What happened during the 2007 draft: The JaMarcus Russell incident

After a stop in 2008 last week, our draft nostalgia train chugs onward to 2007, a year with the worst kind of draft history.

The BIG story

For a moment, forget everything you know about JaMarcus Russell. Forget the Purple Drank, forget the 52.1 career completion percentage, and forget the sagging body. Most of all, forget this…

Let's travel back to a time together when Russell regret doesn't exist, a time when he was a tall, tank of a man who could throw a ball into the visiting teams' stadium. Or beyond.

Standing at 6'6" and weighing 265 pounds, he was an athletic specimen at LSU. Yes, I just used the words "athletic specimen" to describe the prospect version of JaMarcus Russell, and not the guy who later became a hot air balloon.

Seriously, look at this mountain of humanity run, twist, turn, then fire, or just run some more.

That's what led to 9.1 yards per pass attempt during his final season at LSU, with a passer rating of 168.0. The combination of his weight, ability to absorb contact, and creativity while avoiding a rush makes Prospect JaMarcus Russell look a little like Ben Roethlisberger. Or a slower Cam Newton, who's also towering at 6'6" and 260 pounds.

There was much gushing over his blend of ball heaving and body bulldozing. This is a real thing Todd McShay said at the time:

"I can't remember being in such awe of a quarterback in my decade of attending combines and pro days. Russell's passing session was the most impressive of all the pro days I've been to. His footwork for such a big quarterback was surprising. He was nimble in his dropbacks, rolling out and throwing on the run. The ball just explodes out of his hands."

He wasn't alone. Mike Mayock became all wide-eyed after Russell's Pro Day and throughout the scouting process. But he still dropped an important word of caution: "The only thing that’s going to keep [Russell] from being great is him."

Al Davis fell madly in love with Russell, which surprised absolutely no one given his infatuation with prospects he saw as rare athletic gems. After he became the first overall pick in 2007 -- ahead of everyone, but most notably Calvin Johnson and Adrian Peterson -- the problem wasn't so much Russell's physical skills, through they deteriorated. As Mayock warned, his downfall was tied to mental flaws.

He didn't really care a whole lot about football, which is a problem for someone who plays football. At first that wasn't the case, because although he wasn't exactly a world conqueror, Russell showed some promise towards the end of his first full year as a starter in 2008, throwing six touchdown passes and only two interceptions over the final three weeks.

But the following year he regressed, and when the 2010 offseason came his weight had grown to 290 pounds. Whatever mobility he had to weave around pass rushers was gone, so now he could only be described using one word: big.

When that's your only asset as a quarterback, the equally large arm matters little without time to use it. Eventually even Al Davis' love died, and Russell was released in May of 2010. For three seasons and just 25 starts he pocketed a total of $39.4 million, and his original contract of $68 million over six years -- granted after a training camp holdout that saw Russell miss Week 1 of his rookie year -- later led to a rookie wage scale being negotiated during the 2011 lockout.

What did we learn from JaMarcus Russell the prospect, compared to JaMarcus Russell the pro? Mostly that money can make humans lazy, and laziness leads to fatness.

The other quarterback disaster

All 2007 draft revisits will forever focus on Russell, as he redefined the bust label. But 21 picks later the Browns selected Brady Quinn, who was deemed worthy of just 12 starts before being traded to Denver in March of 2010, where he couldn't beat out Kyle Orton for a starting job, and he was eventually leapfrogged by Tim Tebow too. Rock, meet bottom.

His final numbers with the Chiefs: 52.1 completion percentage, 5.4 yards per attempt, 10 touchdowns, eight interceptions, and 1,902 passing yards.

He's a profound guy though, and spoke some real truth following Jovan Belcher's murder-suicide.

Overall 2007 produced a lot of quarterback vomit. After Quinn, it was Kevin Kolb coming off the board early in the second round, then John Beck, Drew Stanton, and Trent Edwards. Yep, puke.

The running back who didn't break

As we drift further back in time with these draft revisits, we keep heading to far away lands where the first-round running back lives.

Back in 2007 a rather talented running back named Adrian Peterson came off the board at seventh overall. All he's done since is rush for an average of 1,445 yards per season, including a near record-setting year in 2012 with 2,097 yards.

An honest question: with running backs devalued so significantly (barring a dramatic shift, next week we'll see the second straight first round without a running back), would Peterson still be a top 10 pick in today's NFL? His talent is worth it easily, but the hesitancy hovering over the position -- especially after Trent Richardson's bust -- would likely force Peterson to the back half of the round.

The opposite of JaMarcus Russell

Though the black cloud of Russell and Quinn will hover over this draft, in truth it was a strong and deep class up front.

Looking at just the first two rounds, here's a pretty sparkling list:

• Calvin Johnson (2nd overall)

• Joe Thomas (3rd)

• Patrick Wills (11th)

• Marshawn Lynch (12th)

• Joe Staley (28th)

• Eric Weddle (37th)

• LaMarr Woodley (46th)

The best names

A really strong class here between Turk McBride, Sansom Satele, Sabby Piscitelli, Yamon Fingurs, Syndric Steptoe, and C.J. Ah You.

The best innovation

Jordan Palmer (205th overall to Washington) hasn’t had nearly the career of his brother while slugging it as a journeyman backup. But when he pumped some money into an app called RunPee, Palmer helped to change your movie urination.

(I'm not sure if this still exists, but I hope it does?)

The bargains

Maybe it was Ahmad Bradshaw -- he of the two 1,000-yard rushing seasons after being five picks shy of the Mr. Irrelevant title -- who really started the running back draft spiral.

• Ahmad Bradshaw (Giants, 250th overall)
• Dashon Goldson (49ers, 126th)
• Jermon Bushrod (125th)
• Paul Soliai (108th)
• Brandon Mebane (85th)
• Charles Johnson (83rd)
• Ryan Kalil (59th)