Countdown to the NFL Draft

The NFL Draft starts in five days!

We love the draft. The draft stands for renewal, improvement, and (unless you're a Texans fan) hope. As Saints fans we have seen some great draft moments, but many more disappointing ones.

Recently there was the drafting of Alex Molden over Eddie George in 1996, taking a borderline first round pick, Chris Naeole, with the 10th pick in 1997, the Ricky debacle in 1999, and trading two first round picks to take Jonathan Sullivan #6 in 2003.

But with the draft, unless your a Texans fan, this year's pick will be a great one. This guy fills the only real hole on the offense or defense, is a great character player (or conversely, through his problems which hurt him in college), and will easily start for the next five to ten years. The only time of more joy than the NFL Draft for an NFL fan is training camp.

Predicting precisely where the players we care about will be drafted seems to be a pointless process, but what follows are predictions for the range of picks you can expect to see a few players of interest go off the board.

JaMarcus Russell -- 1st -- It just makes too much sense, so don't be surprised if he slips. Calvin Johnson could go first and JaMarcus could slip to 2 or 3.

Adrian Peterson -- 3rd -- Once again makes too much sense, so don't be surprised if Rick Mirer Brady Quinn goes here.

Rick MirerBrady Quinn -- 7th to 9th -- Either the Vikings or Dolphins will take him, or maybe somebody will trade up. We would love to see this guy go Aaron Rodgers all the way into the 20s.

On to the Horns:

Michael Griffin -- 17th to 24th -- Michael could go earlier, but it doesn't seem likely. We don't see him slipping past the Patriots at 24. Favorite MG moment: Balletic interception of Matt Leinart in the '06 Rose Bowl.

Aaron Ross -- 19th to 27th -- It would be sweet to see Aaron on the Titans with VY, but we'd also like to see him on the Saints. Odds are he'll go somewhere in between. It seems there will be a run on cornerbacks in the last third of the first round that will include Ross, Darrelle Revis, Chris Houston, and possibly Daymeion Hughes from Cal or Marcus McCauley from Fresno State. Favorite AR moment: Forcing the critical fumble against Nebraska in '06 which led to the game winning field goal.

Justin Blalock -- Early-mid second round -- We could see him going as early as the mid-twenties, but it seems more likely that he'll fall into the second round. He'd be a great pickup for Houston with pick 39. Oh, wait, strike that. Favorite JB moment: Blowing up USC's Josh Pinkard on the 4th and 5.

Tim Crowder -- Mid-late second round -- Tim Crowder will be a great value pickup for whoever picks him. Good pass rusher, solid enough against the run, seems to be a solid character guy. Favorite TC moment: 3 sack game against Oklahoma State in '04 which Texas won 56-35 after trailing 35-7.

Tarell Brown -- Late second round to mid third round -- Poor Tarrell Brown. If he could have stayed away from Aaron Harris, the 2006 football season may have been different. Character questions could push him down further, but he was just taking a nap...with Tyrell Gatewood's gun on his lap. Favorite TB moment: Highly debatable, but we'll go with Tarrell's interception and return for touchdown against Okie State in 2004. Sure, the play was called back but it set up a gorgeous long touchdown run by VY on the next play.

Brian Robison -- Mid-late third round -- We think Brian Robison could end up being the steal of the draft. He's extremely athletic and could potentially play LB or DE at the next level. He had a fantastic workout so his stock is on the rise. Favorite BR moment: Bomar'd. Never seen a hit like that before.

Selvin Young -- Second day to undrafted -- Unfortunately it doesn't seem likely that Selvin will get drafted. We've always liked him, hopefully he'll catch on somewhere. Favorite SY moment: There was a time when Texas was losing 7-0 to New Mexico State in 2003. Selvin ensured Texas wouldn't have to take an offensive snap still trailing. His kick return prevented Texas from embarrassing itself in Austin...for another week.