Raiders Camp : Top Picks Sticking Close to Their Agents

The Raiders opened their rookie camp in the same way that 23 other National Football League teams did, without their No. 1 draft pick.

That was Jessie Hester, the wide receiver from Florida State, who did try to report even though he is unsigned and was told that league rules said he had to get out of town.

Hester didn’t quite make it back to Florida, though. He got to LAX and turned left. He wound up in Stockton, where his agent, Mike Blatt, is headquartered.

Jamie Kimmel, the Syracuse linebacker who was the Raiders’ fourth draft choice, is thought to be staying near his agent in Las Vegas. Oklahoma State quarterback Rusty Hilger, the No. 6 pick who intrigued the Raider staff in the mini-camps, may be staying near his agent in Houston. All three draftees were working out daily at the team’s El Segundo base until it broke to come here. Coach Tom Flores says that they were close to signing Hilger, but just ran out of time.

But they aren’t that close to signing Hester yet. Blatt met with the Raiders’ Steve Ortmayer in Los Angeles Thursday morning, but then left town.

“I would hope it’s not (going to go on for a while),” said Frank Bauer, an associate of Blatt, from Stockton. “But it looks like it . . .

“Ortmayer stressed to us, ‘Hey, we’ll sign Jessie for his market value.’ But there is no market value. And I think they’re afraid of upsetting the apple cart. You expect Al Davis to step out on his own and do what he wants to do. They’re not afraid, but pressure is coming down from the Management Council. Everybody is sitting, squatting on the low salary figures.”

As of Thursday, only five of the 28 first-round picks had signed, and only 10 second rounders. Agents are complaining that there are two different sets of market values for this year’s No. 1 picks.

One is the level reached by Cleveland’s Bernie Kosar, who got a reported $6 million for five years, and Bruce Smith, the No. 1 pick in the draft, who got $2.8 million over four years.

Of course, it could be noted that even without the USFL bidding, these players had some leverage.

The other level is more what NFL teams have been offering. This is the $275,000-a-year for four years that the Cincinnati Bengals gave the 25th pick overall, Emmanuel King.

Hester, the 23rd pick overall, is thought to be asking for a contract similar to the one signed by last year’s 23rd pick, Louis Lipps of the Steelers. Lipps got $1.775 million for four years. Until the two sides close some ground, Hester will be summering in Stockton.

Bobby Hebert, the ex-Oakland Invader quarterback and current free agent, is making a Warren Moon-like tour of NFL teams. He tried out with the Seattle Seahawks and may go next to New Orleans. The Raiders are still interested enough to follow developments, but they’re said to have reservations about how much they’d have to pay him and whether he’s really worth it. They do not intend to try him out.

Tom Flores: “We have never made him an offer. We have not ever negotiated with him . . .

“Right now, my biggest concern is getting everybody in here who’s supposed to be here and taking a look at them--Hilger, Rich Campbell, Jim Jensen (an ex-Express free agent), I don’t think you can slight him. He threw some bombs today.

“(Jim) Plunkett’s just an amazing guy, with what he’s done for us in his career. We still think he has the ability to win for us. So has Marc Wilson, if we can just keep him healthy.”

Plunkett and Wilson are expected to report Sunday.

Raider Notes

The Raiders have 73 players here, including veterans Rich Campbell and Don Mosebar. Mosebar is getting extra work in his try to switch from guard to center . . . Gordon (Rooster) Jones, the ex-Tampa Bay and Ram wide receiver trying out as a free agent, was expected to report Thursday night. Tom Flores: “He had a date problem. He thought he had to report today instead of yesterday. He was in Los Angeles. He watched the camp opening on the late news.”