Hearst Tantalizes; Bates Has Appeal, Though Not a Lott : Raiders: Defensive back from Texas A&M; is logical No.12 choice to replace departed free agent.

If the Raiders get either quarterback Drew Bledsoe of Washington State or Rick Mirer of Notre Dame in today’s draft, they could have an ideal backup to Jeff Hostetler, not to mention their quarterback of the distant future.

If they get linebacker Marvin Jones of Florida State, they could immediately shore up a glaring weakness.

If they get either running back Garrison Hearst of Georgia or Jerome Bettis of Notre Dame, they will strengthen their backfield for years to come.

All of those would be excellent picks, but none is expected to be there when the Raiders make the 12th selection in today’s draft.

The Raiders could try to trade up, but they are limited in what they could offer.

They have quality depth only at wide receiver and in the defensive line.

They also don’t have much flexibility in draft choices to offer. The Raiders have already given up their third-round pick in the recent trade with the Denver Broncos for Gaston Green. And they sent their fourth-round choice to the Dallas Cowboys last season for Alexander Wright.

So whom will the Raiders pick at No. 12 if the draft breaks down as expected?

The two most logical candidates are Patrick Bates, a 6-foot-3, 224-pound safety from Texas A&M;, and 6-2, 236-pound linebacker Wayne Simmons from Clemson.

An outside possibility would be Lincoln Kennedy, an offensive lineman from Washington.

He figures to go higher, but his weight--reportedly as high as 330 pounds--might hold him back.

Bates is thought to be good enough to make an impact in his rookie year. He has the range to play free safety.

For the Raiders, the safety position is a question mark because of the defection of free agent Ronnie Lott to the New York Jets.

Although they talked to free agent defensive backs Tim McDonald and Erik McMillan, the Raiders failed to sign anyone new for their secondary, leaving second-year man Derrick Hoskins to join Eddie Anderson at safety.

Certainly, no rookie is going to step right in and fill Lott’s role as the defensive leader, the team’s emotional point man. But Bates would provide depth,

Simmons had 19 sacks over the last two seasons, and has also shown the range to cover receivers coming out of the backfield.

The Raiders have already signed free agent linebacker Joe Kelly, formerly of the Jets, but they can still use help there.

There is one other possibility--USC receiver Curtis Conway.

The last place the Raiders need help is at this position, but Conway, who can also return kicks, might be as good an athlete as there is in this draft. And owner Al Davis has shown time and again that he can’t resist going after good athletes, regardless of need.

He took a shot with Bo Jackson, and again with Raghib (Rocket) Ismail.

Others mentioned as Raider possibilities are offensive lineman Brad Hopkins of Illinois and defensive lineman-linebacker Chris Slade of Virginia.

Still, at this point, the best guess is that the Raiders will pick Bates.