ANALYZING THE NFL DRAFT : WHICH TEAM DID THE BEST? : Cincinnati Again Hauled in Load of Talent; and, for Once, So Did New Orleans

They might as well have been in jail. They sat like statues around long tables all day and half the night. Nervously, worrying about their jobs and their futures, they were dividing up the continent’s football-playing college seniors.

When it was over, when the coaches and scouts of the 28 teams called it a day and a night, one question was left. Who won the draft?

A bystander’s answer:

The Cincinnati Bengals and New Orleans Saints started so fast that only the San Francisco 49ers caught up. At the end, it was a triple dead heat. The Dallas Cowboys were next. The Detroit Lions also raced smartly.

And the champion Chicago Bears, even though they were drafting in 28th place, finished ahead of most.

CINCINNATI

For years, the Bengals have usually won the draft. Under Paul Brown they collect more extra choices than any other team, trading away any player who, after two or three years in Cincinnati, isn’t starting.

It’s true that the Bengals don’t play football as well as they draft, but that’s another story.

Typically, with two shots in the first round, they went for proven players. No Canadian imports for this team, and no longshots. Instead, they picked the best linebacker in the draft, Joe Kelly of Washington, and the potentially best receiver, Tim McGee of Tennessee.

Their second-round pick, defensive back Lewis Billups of North Alabama, has similar talent, although at that school it’s hard to prove.

With three shots in the third round, the Bengals could afford to reach for defensive back David Fulcher, an Arizona State hitter.

And with two shots in the fourth, the Bengals beat the league to Doug Gaynor, the Cal State Long Beach passer who has the tools to skillfully back up one of the league’s great young quarterbacks, Boomer Esiason.

NEW ORLEANS

In their troubled 20-year history, the Saints have never finished above .500.

But there’s a new force there. It’s the firm of Finks & Mora--a veteran general manager, Jim Finks, and the USFL’s winningest coach, Jim Mora.

Forecasting a unique winning season in New Orleans this fall, Finks & Mora, who took over in January, drafted like champions Tuesday, starting with Jim Dombrowski of Virginia, the consensus choice of NFL scouts as the year’s No. 1 offensive tackle.

In the next two rounds, the Saints rounded up three of the year’s ablest running backs--explosive Dalton Hilliard of LSU, all-around Rueben Mayes of Washington State, and a fast-moving 220-pound workhorse named Barry Word, a Virginia hurdler.

Drafting throughout with rare skill, the Saints landed a quality linebacker in Round 3, Pat Swilling of Georgia Tech; a small-college receiver who can go deep, Kelvin Edwards of Liberty, in Round 4; a defensive back from Miami’s 1983 champions, Reggie Sutton, in Round 5, and the defensive star of Round 10, end Jon Dumbauld of Kentucky.

SAN FRANCISCO

Bill Walsh, the 49er coach who has led his team to two Super Bowl victories in the 1980s, has become the NFL’s most unusual and most successful draft-day operator.

Walsh refuses to keep any choice unless in his view the talent available when he drafts matches that choice in quality.

Thus he trades up and down repeatedly. In a series of deals Tuesday he traded away 5 draft picks and got 12 in return.

Moreover, reckoning that Matt Cavanaugh and Jeff Kemp are about equals as backup quarterbacks, Walsh improved his net supply of draft choices when he traded Cavanaugh to Philadelphia and got Kemp from the Rams.

The 49ers finished the day with two 1987 firsts and two 1987 seconds, plus a 1986 slate of solid performers.

Walsh is confident that:

--Alabama defensive end Larry Roberts, drafted with the first choice he kept, the day’s 39th choice, has first-round ability.

--The 49ers’ three third-round picks all have at least second-round ability. They are Nebraska fullback Tom Rathman, Texas Arlington defensive back Tim McKyer, and Delaware State receiver John Taylor.

In the fourth round, the 49ers got a potential starter, tackle Steve Wallace of Auburn.

His opponents say that Walsh is remarkable for two qualities. He has more patience than his peers and a great deal more self-confidence.

DALLAS

The Cowboys have been doubting themselves lately. For one thing, they have shaken up their personnel department. Still, under vice president Gil Brandt, Dallas has steadily brought in some of the game’s greatest players for 25 years--blending draftees, tradees and free agents with skill. And Tuesday’s was another solid Dallas draft:

--No. 1, UCLA receiver Mike Sherrard, played to mixed reviews, but has the speed, height and talent the Cowboys want.

--No. 2, Arizona State running back Darryl Clack, will capably back up Tony Dorsett.

--No. 3, UCLA defensive lineman Mark Walen, will fit smoothly into Dallas’ 4-3.

--No. 4, Arizona’s Max Zendejas, may force the Cowboys to keep two kickers this year.

DETROIT

With their first three choices, the Lions drafted players who shouldn’t have been on the board at the time--Chuck Long of Iowa, a 6-foot 4-inch, 220-pound quarterback who was strangely passed over for 11 picks; Garry James of LSU, possibly the most gifted running back in the draft after Bo Jackson and Keith Byars, and Joe Millinichik of North Carolina State, a 300-pound, dependable, team-foundation type tackle.

CHICAGO

At least three of the champions’ top choices shouldn’t have been there when they drafted.

They are No. 1 Neal Anderson, who excelled at Florida as both ball carrier and receiver; No. 3 David Williams of Illinois, one of the most underrated of recent two-time All-American receivers, and No. 4 Paul Blair, the Oklahoma tackle with unlimited pass-blocking potential.

OTHERS

Auburn running back Bo Jackson alone has the ability to make Tampa Bay’s draft as successful as any.

Tony Casillas of Oklahoma will make Atlanta’s draft as big as any if he is the nose tackle he seems to be.

New England came in with more talent than most teams have and added the frosting with SMU running back Reggie Dupard and Boston College nose tackle Mike Ruth.

Purdue quarterback Jim Everett alone can give Houston a landmark draft.

Alabama defensive end Jon Hand can do the same for Indianapolis.

UCLA kicker John Lee makes the St. Louis draft.

After taking defensive end Leslie O’Neal of Oklahoma State and tackle James FitzPatrick of USC on the first round, the Chargers didn’t draft as well as they might have.

Navy’s great running back, Napoleon McCallum, the Raiders’ No. 4 pick, can make their draft, provided that he can somehow stay football-sharp during his five years as an officer and a gentleman.

The Rams’ top two, offensive linemen Mike Schad from Canada and Tom Newberry from Wisconsin La Crosse, must prove that they can play on this level.