RAMS : Will It Be Gilbert? Or Vincent? Only Knox Knows for Sure

There is so much buzz about the once-in-a-decade NFL draft Sunday and Monday, it sounds like a beehive on a midsummer afternoon.

Put your ear to it, listen to the background noises, and you hear strange and fascinating things, even stranger than normal.

Why? Because this two-day affair is loaded with blue-chip, worth-the-big-money talent, and that both scares and titillates the NFL folk involved.

They haven’t had a draft such as this one since 1983, the year that spawned John Elway, Jim Kelly, Dan Marino, Eric Dickerson and many others.

Someday, not too long from now, owners will turn to their draft coordinators and ask: What did you do for us in that famous 1992 draft?

You can turn around a franchise with this kind of deep, deep draft. You can put a good team into the Super Bowl with it. You can ruin one, too. The stakes are at an all-time level, and the mistakes are there to be made. (See: Rams Draft, Mike Schad through Latin Berry, et al).

If you’re Jimmy Irsay, general manager of the Indianapolis Colts and holder of the first two picks, you blow this one and you have blown a lifetime shot at double superstars and might have messed up quarterback Jeff George’s prime years.

If you’re Chuck Knox, inheritor of the ill wind that swept through Anaheim the past two years, you have four of the top 60 picks, including No. 3, and every one of those first four could, and perhaps should, be starters by September.

That’s why Indy is so tentative with what to do with its second pick; the only player everybody agrees on is Washington defensive tackle Steve Emtman, the consensus No. 1 guy.

Beyond that, seven or eight players have a chance to be repeat selections for the Pro Bowl, to deliver a big bang for the buck right from the beginning of their NFL careers.

The nervousness lies in separating those with Pro Bowl futures from those with a knack for getting their multimillion-dollar rookie contract and disappearing forever.

Ah, well, the best thing about a mock draft is that you don’t have to tell anybody you’re sorry in the morning after somebody else wins a Super Bowl . . .

Here’s a swing at what the top part (picks that are directly related to the Rams’ decision-making) of the first round might, but probably won’t, look like. The rest of the round is included in the accompanying chart:

1-2. Indianapolis Colts--If Emtman isn’t signed by Sunday morning, Irsay is whispering that the Colts might try to trade him for a package similar to what they gave for George (two young Pro Bowl-calibre players and a first-round pick) two years ago. Irsay wants the Rams to hear this and start the bidding.

But the Rams, and practically everybody else, think this is all talk. The feeling is that even if agent Marvin Demoff keeps Emtman unsigned, he will be drafted by the Colts.

The Colts could get cute, however, and sign somebody else as their top pick, get that contract out of the way, then come back to Emtman with their second selection. Either way, Emtman, for all intents, is the No. 1 and will get about $11 million over five seasons to prove it.

After him, the Colts have been huffing and puffing about Michigan receiver Desmond Howard to try to attract a trade, but again, almost nobody believes them. Their asking price so far is too high (two first-round picks).

If, as is likely, there’s no deal, expect them to relent, apologize to George for teasing him about Howard, and take Texas A & M linebacker Quentin Coryatt, another instant-impact defender.

3. Rams--They are not happy about losing out on Emtman and Coryatt, but they pretty much figured this would happen.

Some executives around the league are asking: Would Knox be willing to give up his No. 1 pick and his second-rounder (at No. 30 overall, it’s practically a first-round pick) to nudge up into Coryatt territory? Unlikely.

The smart word around the league is that the Rams are almost a lock to select mammoth Pittsburgh defensive lineman Sean Gilbert with this pick. Gilbert, who has played only a year and a half of big-time football (he’s coming out as a junior), has lodged speed-strength numbers in recent workouts that have scouts reeling.

He’s 6 feet 5, weighs 315 pounds, and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.84 seconds? Is this possible?

These officials, mind you, are not getting this from Knox, who is keeping his cards as close to the vest in draft matters as he is everything else. To others, Knox keeps saying he isn’t thrilled with Gilbert’s knack playing in a daze at times, that Gilbert isn’t a Cortez Kennedy, whom Knox moved mountains (and two No. 1s) to acquire two seasons ago.

But league watchers are merely speculating on this truism: The Rams need big people on defense so bad it hurts. Gilbert is the most gifted big man to come out in a long time. He will be there. Everybody else who wants a big man wants him. Teams will trade up to get him.

How, these wise people ask, can the Rams bypass that?

How? Because Knox is determined to keep his options open. He has gone on and on about Wisconsin cornerback Troy Vincent, he likes Indiana tailback Vaughn Dunbar, and he recently requested a Rams Park visit from Florida State play-making cornerback Terrell Buckley, whose recent workouts have moved him past Vincent on some teams’ cornerback list.

Knox seems to want to trade the pick if Coryatt is gone, and if he can lure Washington (at Nos. 6 and 28) or Miami (at 7 and 12) to go two-for-one, he’d probably do it, maybe tossing in one of his own third-rounders to complete the deal.

Let’s assume he can’t, so it’ll come down to Gilbert’s huge upside potential versus Vincent’s professionalism, since Buckley and Dunbar are viable mainly if the Rams move down the ladder.

The pick? If there’s no trade, the guess is Gilbert . . . NOT. Because Knox hates to buy into conventional wisdom and because he does not want to roll the dice on an iffy project so early in the new regime, the choice, if you made us guess, will be Vincent.

Vincent, teamed with Todd Lyght, last year’s No. 1, gives the Rams a shot at having the best secondary in the conference for the next 10 years.

4. Cincinnati--The Rams passing on Gilbert would trigger some major shock waves, starting here, making the Bengals the most popular team in town. Cincinnati was all set to snap up Vincent or Buckley, assuming Gilbert gone, but with him there, the Bengals can wheel and deal, either take Buckley or send him to Dallas, which has made no secret that they covet him, take Gilbert or send him to Miami, who can’t believe the Rams passed on him. The pick if no trade: Gilbert.

5. Green Bay--The talk is Howard or Dunbar for this pick, but suddenly Buckley is still there.

6. Washington--The Super Bowl champions are talking as if they might take the top-rated quarterback, Houston’s David Klingler, but that’s mainly to smoke out which teams want him badly enough (Denver, Kansas City, Cleveland, Pittsburgh) to talk trade.

No receivers can dominate a game like theirs, and to make sure it stays that way as Art Monk (34 years old) and Gary Clark (29 next season) get older, Washington takes Howard.

If the Rams move down to this slot, it would be because Washington wants Vincent, at least partially because his temperament is as smooth as his playing style.

And if the Rams are in this spot, they probably wouldn’t blink before jumping on Dunbar. Dunbar doesn’t add impact to the Rams’ defense, but he’s a muscle-packed (5-10, 203) runner joining a coach who has a tradition of selecting durable running backs (Curt Warner in Seattle, Joe Cribbs in Buffalo) in the first years of his tenure.

Unusually large (350 pounds at latest sighting) Clemson defensive tackle Chester McGlockton is another name to remember if the Rams move down. He’s not a workaholic, but his 5.0 40-yard-dash speed marks him a possible top 15 pick.

Kawakami’s Draft Picks

Ram writer Tim Kawakami projects the first 30 selections (two into the second round) of Sunday’s NFL draft. Picks do not take into account possible trades that would affect order. NOTES: Washington’s No. 6 pick is from San Diego; Miami’s No. 7 pick is from Phoenix; Dallas’ No. 13 pick is from Minnesota; Atlanta’s No. 17 pick is from Philadelphia through Green Bay; San Diego’s No. 23 pick is from Houston.

No. Team Name School Pos. Hgt Wgt 1 Indianapolis Steve Emtman Washington DT 6-4 288 2 Indianapolis Quentin Coryatt Texas A&M; LB 6-4 240 3 Rams Troy Vincent Wisconsin CB 6-0 190 4 Cincinnati Sean Gilbert Pittsburgh DL 6-5 315 5 Green Bay Terrell Buckley Florida State CB 5-9 172 6 Washington Desmond Howard Michigan WR 5-9 184 7 Miami Alonzo Spellman Ohio State DE 6-4 280 8 New England Bob Whitfield Stanford OT 6-5 305 9 Cleveland Leon Searcy Miami (Fla.) OL 6-3 294 10 Seattle Vaughn Dunbar Indiana RB 5-10 203 11 Pittsburgh David Klingler Houston QB 6-4 204 12 Miami Kevin Smith Texas A&M; CB 5-11 175 13 Dallas Dale Carter Tennessee S 6-1 186 14 N.Y. Giants Derek Brown Notre Dame TE 6-5 250 15 N.Y. Jets Chester McGlockton Clemson DT 6-3 347 16 Raiders Siupeli Malamala Washington OT 6-4 318 17 Atlanta Tony Smith Southern Miss. RB 6-1 212 18 San Francisco Carl Pickens Tennessee WR 6-3 205 19 Atlanta Ray Roberts Virginia OT 6-6 305 20 Kansas City Tommy Maddox UCLA QB 6-4 195 21 New Orleans Eugene Chung Virginia Tech OL 6-4 298 22 Chicago Bill Johnson Michigan State DL 6-4 301 23 San Diego Jimmy Smith Jackson State WR 6-1 200 24 Dallas Todd Collins Carson-Newman LB 6-2 242 25 Denver Greg Skrepenak Michigan OT 6-6 318 26 Detroit Marco Coleman Georgia Tech LB 6-3 255 27 Buffalo Darryl Williams Miami (Fla.) DB 6-1 191 28 Washington Chris Mims Tennessee DL 6-4 260 29 Indianapolis Courtney Hawkins Michigan State WR 5-10 185 30 Rams Robert Porcher S. Carolina St. DE 6-4 280

Name: Steve Emtman Comment: The only no-brainer pick on the board. Name: Quentin Coryatt Comment: Completes best two-defender rookie class a team ever had. Name: Troy Vincent Comment: Doesn’t fix pass-rush paucity, but Knox likes his star quality. Name: Sean Gilbert Comment: all you care about is physical talent, he’s pick of decade. Name: Terrell Buckley Comment: Deion Sanders, without the baseball career complications. Name: Desmond Howard Comment: It’s nice to be champion and see Heisman winner fall so low. Name: Alonzo Spellman Comment: Enough of those 240-pound rushers; it’s time for a wide body. Name: Bob Whitfield Comment: Hinting QB, but why? Here’s the best player left on the board. Name: Leon Searcy Comment: Don’t blow it again, Browns, take a real lineman. Name: Vaughn Dunbar Comment: Beaten to OL punch, settle for the new Curt Warner. Name: David Klingler Comment: Has Bradshaw’s arm, erratics. Time to start all over again. Name: Kevin Smith Comment: If you watched Dolphins try to cover last year, you know why. Name: Dale Carter Comment: An upset if they don’t trade up, but hard to get better than this. Name: Derek Brown Comment: Hmmm. Mark Bavaro, last star Irish tight end, did OK, too. Name: Chester McGlockton Comment: Often dozes on the field, but earth shakes when he wakes. Name: Siupeli Malamala Comment: A reach, but Al Davis lives for draft-day shockers. Name: Tony Smith Comment: Nyah-nyah. Cut in front of RB-starved 49ers to do this. Name: Carl Pickens Comment: Could play him at DB until Rice slows down. Name: Ray Roberts Comment: He’d be a top 10 player in any other year. Name: Tommy Maddox Comment: A huge gamble, but Chiefs have passed on other QBs and paid. Name: Eugene Chung Comment: GM Jim Finks rarely veers from his “draftbig” credo. Name: Bill Johnson Comment: Need help everywhere, usually go for the safest selection. Name: Jimmy Smith Comment: With Anthony Miller a question mark, a good “need” pick. Name: Todd Collins Comment: With so many picks, can afford to roll on small college superstar. Name: Greg Skrepenak Comment: Wanted a quarterback, but maybe in the next round. Name: Marco Coleman Comment: He’s no Pat Swilling, but he’s the best rusher left. Name: Darryl Williams Comment: Been searching for a DB since Super Bowl blowout. Name: Chris Mims Comment: They did it with mirrors on the defensive line last year. Name: Courtney Hawkins Comment: Come back with some quarterback helper. Name: Robert Porcher Comment: Not a bulky inside guy, but he can bring it from outside.