Chargers Might Find Talent to Fit Need in Florida Free Safety
SAN DIEGO — Forget what the savants--who are divided on this, by the way--say about the NFL draft. Teams that select the “best athlete available” don’t always build Super Bowl winners. Teams that draft to fill pressing needs don’t always get what they want either.
The right way to draft in professional football is to skillfully combine the urgency of need with the recognized value of talent.
One week from today, the Chargers will have a chance to demonstrate exactly what their philosophy is in the 1989 NFL draft. Barring trades, the Chargers will pick eighth in the first round. They have 13 picks overall, including three in the seventh round but none in the sixth.
“Our philosophy is a blend of the two,” says Steve Ortmayer, the Chargers director of football operations. “We don’t like to reach significantly for a position. But the draft is like the game of football. You get presented situations on the spur of the moment that you may or may not have encountered before and you have to react. So I don’t think you can make hard and fast rules.”
Two years ago, Ortmayer stunned his head coach, Al Saunders, by selecting tight end Rod Bernstine with the 24th pick of the first round. Explanation: Best athlete available.
Last year’s No. 1 choice, wide receiver Anthony Miller, was a more serendipitous marriage of need and talent. The Chargers got him with the 15th pick.
So who will they go for with their first pick in this year’s mediocre draft? Their needs are almost everywhere you look--quarterback, linebacker, offensive line, secondary. And the players who still will be available by the time they get to No. 8 are anybody’s guess.
This much is certain: UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman, Michigan State tackle Tony Mandarich and Florida State cornerback Deion Sanders will be gone. You can probably add Oklahoma State running back Barry Sanders to that list. Ortmayer says the only player the Chargers are interested in trading up for is Aikman.
One of the most interesting players the Chargers will probably have a shot at is Florida’s Louis Oliver, a 6-2, 225-pound free safety who ran a 4.4 second 40-yard dash at the scouting combine workouts at Indianapolis after the Super Bowl.
Three weeks ago, the Chargers dispatched defensive coordinator Ron Lynn to personally work out Oliver. Lynn came away raving.
“There aren’t gonna be too many guys coming out ever who are gonna have the qualities he has,” Lynn said.
Besides Oliver’s rare speed and uncommon agility for someone his size (he was third among all safeties in the 20-yard agility shuttle drill at Indianapolis), Oliver has built a reputation as a hitter.
“I like to run around and find somebody to crack,” he said prior to his senior year.
“What I do is try and stay away from Louis,” said Florida tailback Emmitt Smith, when asked about his strategy. “I consider that a smart thing to do.”
Plus, Lynn says, “he’s a bright guy, a smart guy. He’s an inquisitive guy with good character, a good personal life and a good family situation.”
Oliver generally likes to keep his violent thoughts to himself. But they are always near the surface. Less than a year ago, he talked about tackling Georgia tailback Lars Tate, now a Tampa Bay Buccaneer.
“I’ve wanted to point at guys and step on them before,” Oliver said. “I wanted to step on Tate’s chest after he was down just so he would know who hit him. But that’s not me. I’m not the kind to point and talk all the time.”
Right now, Oliver is letting his agent, Steve Zucker, do most of the talking. Zucker, who also represents Jim McMahon, is good at talking. In Palm Springs he sought out Charger owner Alex Spanos to let Spanos know about McMahon’s interest in becoming a Charger. Zucker also says Oliver wants to be a Charger.
“That’s what he told me when I was there, too.” Lynn said. “But that’s what you’d expect him to tell me.”
Oliver is tight with Charger defensive back Pat Miller, a former teammate at Florida. Oliver has also established a relationship with Charger scout Dwight Adams, who lives in Gainesville, Fla., where the University of Florida is located.
Oliver is a free safety who could convert to strong safety. The Chargers need a strong safety. Free safety Vencie Glenn was one of their best defenders last year. But Lynn says a player with Oliver’s ability could precipitate a switch that would move Glenn to right cornerback, where Sam Seale and Elvis Patterson were so ineffective last year. Lynn says Oliver is also big enough and fast enough to be a combination linebacker-safety in nickel situations.
“Louis Oliver shows you all the talent you’re looking for in a center fielder (free safety),” Ortmayer says. “Plus, he played in a good program (Florida).”
Couple Lynn’s enthusiasm with the hints new Charger Coach Dan Henning was dropping about the need for perimeter speed at the recent NFL owners’ meetings, and Oliver looks more and more like a viable pick.
Clearly, the Chargers have thought a lot about Oliver. He has a 38-inch vertical leap and can bench press 375 pounds. Those qualities are hard to ignore. But by this time next week, they will have thought about a lot of other players, too.
This much is certain: if the Chargers don’t trade their No. 8 pick and if Oliver is still available when they make their first selection and if they take him, they will be getting a player that fills a need and will probably be the best available athlete.
