NFL DRAFT : Rams Are in Good Position; Raiders Must Trade for It

In no particular order, the National Football League continues its inexorable move toward an undergraduate draft, chaos and the 1989 season.

Three prime undergraduates--halfbacks Barry Sanders, Tim Worley and Sammie Smith--have dealt themselves in for next Sunday’s draft simply by filing applications, with the unstated promise of going to court and bringing down the whole anti-trust house of cards if they’re denied. The league, being sued on those very grounds by the players’ union, has seen the wisdom in granting all their wishes, as it did a year ago with Ironhead Heyward. Next year, the line could stretch out the door.

Two other undergraduates--quarterbacks Steve Walsh of Miami and Timm Rosenbach of Washington State--opted for the supplemental draft, instead. This will probably make both No. 1 picks, which was no sure thing for Walsh in the regular pool.

If that’s good news to USC’s Rodney Peete, it may not be good enough to get him into the first round. Pro scouts praise his head, heart and athletic ability, but mark him down on size (6-0 1/2) and arm strength. “He reminds you of the guy at Philadelphia,” said a scout. “Not the No. 1 guy (Randall Cunningham), the No. 3 guy (Don MacPherson).”

An early, optimistic guess for Peete: Green Bay on the second round.

For the Rams, this draft adds up to another great opportunity. They’ll again have two first-round choices and three second-round picks, the last payoff for Eric Dickerson. If they do as well as last year (Aaron Cox, Fred Strickland, Anthony Newman, Flipper Anderson and the lone first-year disappointment, Gaston Green), they could set themselves up for years, a la their Roman Gabriel-to-Philadelphia deal.

For the Raiders, it’s a great challenge. Having already used high picks to get Willie Gault, Jim Lachey (now gone) and Jay Schroeder, they’re without a No. 1 and owe the Washington Redskins either their No. 3, or Nos. 4-5 as well.

As usual, the world awaits Al Davis’ next move. There is gathering speculation he’ll offer Tim Brown to the Atlanta Falcons for the fifth selection in the draft. The Raiders are thought to be panting after Deion Sanders, supposedly the hottest cornerback prospect since Mike Haynes, but Davis couldn’t bear to part with Brown. Or could he?

The top five players in this draft are considered potential stars. Worley, Broderick Thomas and Andre Rison are rated a step behind.

The next seven or eight players are also well thought of. After that, star quality falls off, so teams are expected to fall all over each other, trying to trade up into the gravy, or down for extra choices.

Here’s one early guess of how it shapes up, heading into the stretch run. There will be another guess just before the draft.

1 DALLAS Troy Aikman QB UCLA: The Cowboys are weighing their options but in the end, Aikman’s slow post-season won’t mean anything. He’s still a once-every-three-or-four-years prospect. 2 GREEN BAY Tony Mandarich OT Michigan State: Despite Aikman’s presence, this is the highest-rated prospect in the draft. He’s 6-5, 305, has run a 4.66 40, plays hard, shows fine agility and a mean streak a mile wide. Billed as the next coming of Anthony Munoz. Says one scout: “An animal.” 3 DETROIT Barry Sanders RB Oklahoma State: Despite his power and game-breaking ability, this Heisman Trophy winner doesn’t quite have the scouts drooling as they did over Bo Jackson. At 5-8, 195, he doesn’t have that classic 6-2, 225 physique of Bo and Herschel Walker. Also, the Lions are going to run’n’shoot under new offensive coordinator Mouse Davis, which isn’t ideal for a workhorse back, and they need help all over. They offered this pick to the St. Louis Cardinals for their No. 1 picks, but were turned down. However, Lion attendance has plunged and they’d have a hard time explaining passing him up. 4 KANSAS CITY Derrick Thomas LB Alabama: Not rated as highly as Deion Sanders, but Chiefs have a solid secondary and think they can make a run at the division title--they play the weak fifth-place schedule--if they can shore up their defensive front. Thomas is a 6-2, 227-pound burner who had 27 sacks in his career, eclipsing the school record (15) of Cornelius Bennett. 5 ATLANTA Deion Sanders CB Florida State: “Neon Deion” has a big mouth and skills to match. Ran a 4.27 at the combine workout, and has been as low as 4.21, which would be right behind Bo Jackson’s 4.18 for fastest football player ever. Great cover man. Great baseball prospect who played in the New York Yankee farm system last summer and this spring. He and Mandarich are rated the top prospects in the draft and it’s an upset that Deion goes even this low. 6 TAMPA BAY Tim Worley HB Georgia: Handicapping Ray Perkins is difficult, because you have to discount anything coming out of his mouth. Last year, he said he’d take Sterling Sharpe, took Paul Gruber. This year he’s talking Broderick Thomas, so figure Worley, a 6-1, 220-pounder with 4.4 speed, billed as a more polished John Stephens. Buccaneers need something to take the heat off Vinny Testaverde, unless they want to see another 38 interceptions. 7 PITTSBURGH Andre Rison WR Michigan State: A burner who played in a running offense, but torched every cornerback who came near him in post-season. Steelers like the idea of a tandem with Louis Lipps. 8 SAN DIEGO Broderick Thomas LB Nebraska: The Chargers told the Cowboys to call if they were moving Aikman, and might have considered Rosenbach if he were in the regular pool, but they’re happy to see Broderick is still around. At 6-2, 254, he ran a 4.57 at the scouting combine and fills the hole left by Chip Banks. 9 MIAMI Louis Oliver SS Florida: Dolphins were talking big backs, but didn’t work out Worley or Sammie Smith. Oliver, 6-2, 225, was first compared to Bennie Blades, then David Fulcher and could help the Miami rushing defense in the same way the Cincinnati Bengal behemoth does. 10 PHOENIX Sammie Smith HB Florida State: The erratic George Boone is still in charge of the draft, so anything is possible. Cardinal coaches are praying that Smith will be on the board for them. He’s another Worley-like prodigy, a 220-pounder with 4.35 speed. He’s even more of a game-breaker. 11 CHICAGO Burt Grossman DE Pitt: Foiled in their bid for Houston’s Ray Childress, with Richard Dent and William Perry question marks and Dan Hampton and Steve McMichael aging, Bears are delighted that the highest-rated defensive lineman slips all the way to them. 12 CHICAGO Donnell Woolford CB Clemson: The only other top corner prospect this year. Bears have long had a problem there and this makes it a big defensive draft for them. 13 DENVER Cleveland Gary FB Miami: Broncos are desperate to bulk up their toy defensive line but were foiled in a bid for Buffalo’s Bruce Smith. But Sammy Winder is retiring after this season, and Tony Dorsett ought to, and something has to finally be done about a running game, too. Gary’s a 230-pounder who can catch, a Bronco-type. 14 NEW YORK JETS Tracy Rocker DT Auburn: Great name, but bad knees and a poor senior season. He’s a 275-pounder with the strength and quickness to play the nose. Jets need to find successors to Joe Klecko and Mark Gastineau. 15 SEATTLE Eric Metcalf RB Texas: Seahawks need help on their defensive front but this elusive 177-pounder will make such a neat foil to Curt Warner and John L. Williams. He turned people on in post-season and only his small size pushes him down this far. 16 NEW ENGLAND Hart Lee Dykes WR Oklahoma State: An acrobatic 6-3, 220-pounder with 4.6 speed, compared to Al Toon. 17 PHOENIX Eric Hill LB LSU: A big- hitting 250-pounder with decent speed. One good player on each side of the ball makes this a big draft for Cardinals. 18 NEW YORK GIANTS Brian Williams C Minnesota: A 300-pounder who’d help that small Giant line. 19 NEW ORLEANS Ralph Norwood OT LSU:20 CLEVELAND Derek Hill WR Arizona: Bernie Kosar has done a lot with small, slow receivers, but this one is 6-1, runs in the 4.5s and put on a show at the Senior Bowl. 21 RAMS Bill Hawkins DE Miami: They’re looking for help on the defensive line, which was undercut by three free-agent losses. Hawkins isn’t a physical prodigy but he’s solid, durable and smart. 22 INDIANAPOLIS Tom Ricketts OT Pitt: 23 HOUSTON Steve Atwater S Arkansas: Oilers left ’87 Pro Bowler Keith Bostic unprotected and lost him. Atwater is another Louis Oliver-type, a big hitter. 24 MINNESOTA Rob Drummond HB Syracuse: Vikings need a ground game to go with their aerial firepower. Darrin Nelson’s too small and D.J. Dozier is a bust. Drummond had a nice, if quiet career and came on in post-season bowls. 25 CHICAGO Joe Wolf OG Bost.Col.: 26 RAMS T. Armstrong DE Florida: Slides this low only because of a problem knee 27 CINCINNATI Mitchell Benson DT TCU: 28 S.F. David Williams OT Florida: