Former 'Boys coach thinks Raiders face easy decision

	JaMarcus Russell appears to be the Raiders' most likely target with the No. 1 overall pick, but Oakland may have trouble signing the big-armed quarterback. Al Tielemans/SI
	FILM ROOM TOP OFFENSIVE PLAYERS • JaMarcus Russell | Brady Quinn • Calvin Johnson | Levi Brown • Adrian Peterson | Joe Thomas • Marshawn Lynch | Ted Ginn Jr. TOP DEFENSIVE PLAYERS • Gaines Adams | Patrick Willis • Amobi Okoye | LaRon Landry • Jamaal Anderson | Leon Hall • Alan Branch | Adam Carriker DRAFT FEATURES First-Round Mock Draft By Don Banks Russell stays atop the latest projection. And check out video scouting reports of the top players. Draft Busts From Ryan Leaf to Joey Harrington to Ki-Jana Carter, the most notable draft busts of the last 20 years. • Five potential busts for 2007 Draft Bargains From Tom Brady to Marques Colston to Shannon Sharpe, the most notable draft bargains of the last 20 years. • MANDEL: Overrated/Underrated Top 20 Draft Classes The 1974 Steelers, '86 49ers and '91 Cowboys highlight this list of the best individual drafts teams have ever had. • Famous people drafted by the NFL Complete SI.com Draft Coverage

DETROIT -- Jimmy Johnson, that old draftmaster, has some advice for his friend Al Davis.

"Come on, it's easy,'' the old Cowboys coach said from his Florida Keys home. "They don't have a quarterback, so they don't have a choice. Al's got to take JaMarcus Russell.''

I called Johnson because I thought he always got the philosophy of the draft right, even when he did things that, at the time, seemed idiotic. But he and Jerry Jones formed a good team running the Dallas draft in the early 1990s. Remember '91, when the Cowboys passed on everyone's top pick, Rocket Ismail, and picked a fairly nondescript, middle-of-the-first-round defensive tackle named Russell Maryland? Dallas picked him not because he was a superior player, but because he filled an important slot in Johnson's defense. The Cowboys didn't have a reliable player there, and no other player available in the draft was as good at his position -- in Dallas' eyes -- as Maryland. Johnson used to tell his scouts: I don't care where a guy gets picked, or the value for that perceived by others to be way off. The only thing that matters is whether the guy's a good player.

"So,'' I asked Johnson, "why wouldn't the Raiders just take the sure-fire, can't-miss player in this draft, Calvin Johnson, even if they need a quarterback?''

"Because football's a simple game,'' Johnson said. "You don't have a quarterback, you don't have a chance. If you had a quarterback, there wouldn't be a decision to make. You'd just sit there and take Calvin Johnson. But that's not the position the Raiders are in. And from the looks of it, Russell's a better pick than Brady Quinn. It looks to me like Quinn's maxed out his ability, or close to it. Russell has a chance to be really, really good.''

That's my gut feeling, too. Despite hearing some late info on the Raiders leaning toward Quinn at the top, I resisted the temptation to change my mind. Russell just makes too much sense, even though the Raiders face a very, very hard road getting him signed.

Five Things I Think I Think the Day Before the Draft

1. I think the Chargers will end up with a high- to mid-second-round pick for running back Michael Turner. And I'd do the same thing as general manager A.J. Smith, because you can find good running backs down the line, particularly when you don't need an every-down back. Smith, if he does this, will have less pressure to pick a receiver with his first-round pick. Say he trades with Buffalo at the 43rd overall. That would give the Chargers the 30th, 43rd and 62nd picks. That's almost unfair, considering how good the Chargers are now.

2. I think it's a longshot that the Redskins deal for Lance Briggs. There's been some frost between the Bears and 'Skins.

3. I think there's going to be a big surprise in the draft. There always is. And it just might be Adrian Peterson falling into the teens.

4. I think one organization is going to sleep very, very well Saturday night, and that's the team that drafts Joe Thomas. He's hole-free as a person. Guaranteed. And he's got the quick feet you want to see from a left tackle. He's not a mauler, but he'll be good enough to be a quality left tackle for years.

5. I think if the Raiders dump Randy Moss, as Ed Werder intimated on ESPN this afternoon, it's a foolish decision. Imagine the guy with JaMarcus Russell. Why jettison Moss without even giving him a chance to work with Russell? The guy could be reborn. What a colossal waste of a huge trade.