NFL DRAFT 1987 : The Raiders Decide to Work With Clay

Weeks of intrigue and rumor, in other words the Raiders’ part in the annual NFL draft, ended Tuesday with the selection of John Clay, an over-large offensive tackle from Missouri who has been ticketed for the salad line and the starting lineup, in that order.

Clay, 6 feet 4 1/2 inches and 290 pounds in fighting trim, or 315 today by his estimate, was considered a top pick until scouts, frightened by his postseason expansion, marked him down. The Raiders were delighted to nab him with their No. 15 pick.

How was such a plummet possible?

“John had an indication of where he might go and he had a good feeling about Los Angeles,” said Missouri Coach Woody Widenhofer from his office in Columbia, Mo. “I know he wasn’t showing up when some other teams were stopping in here.”

Al Davis strikes again?

Despite ballooning and swooning in the combine workouts, Clay remains one of the most heavily praised write-downs in the land, compared favorably to no less than the Atlanta Falcons’ Bill Fralic by Widenhofer and by Larry Beightol, former Falcon and Missouri assistant.

“John’s the best offensive tackle I’ve ever been around,” Widenhofer said. “He’s as good as the guys we had with the Steelers and they won four Super Bowls. I think he’s going to be a better pro than he was a college player. They’re going to throw the ball a lot more than we did at Missouri, and his biggest asset is his pass protection ability.

“John got coached by two pretty good guys, Larry Beightol, who’s at Tampa Bay now, and Bill Meyers, who’d been with the Steelers and the Green Bay Packers. As far as technique goes, I don’t think the jump will be a big problem for him.

“He never had any problem with weight here. Any time I ever gave him a weight, he came in at that. He’s a very self-motivating person. I don’t think it’ll be a problem.

“I think the Raiders got a great player. I think John Clay will come in and win a starting position. I’d be disappointed if he didn’t. If he doesn’t, he’s not playing up to his potential.”

Al Davis chooses not to strike?

None of the things that had been speculated upon for weeks happened. Marc Wilson didn’t become an ex-Raider, nor did Neil Lomax or Kelly Stouffer become Raiders, although that may have been according to plan.

Stouffer, whom the Raiders were eyeing, went to the Cardinals as the sixth pick. How disappointed were the Raiders? Publicity notwithstanding, a Raider official had said last week that if it came down to the two players, the Raiders would take quarterback Chris Miller of Oregon over Stouffer.

Talks with the Cardinals about Lomax seem to have died over the weekend, although they limped on after that in the newspapers.

Writers waited expectantly Tuesday as the Raiders traded down twice in the second round, sure that the team was buying time to complete the trade and that the next announcement would be that so-and-so was going to St. Louis for Lomax.

Instead, Coach Tom Flores announced the selection of Bruce Wilkerson, a 6-5, 290-pound tackle from Tennessee.

And the Lomax deal?

Flores said it was “kind of lukewarm now.” He said the teams hadn’t even talked about it “in a couple of days.”

And in St. Louis, Cardinal owner Bill Bidwill said: “There’s nothing active.”

Raider Notes Behind the death of the Neil Lomax talks: A Raider source says the Cards started by asking for a No. 1 pick, which was already more than the Raiders would consider, then asked for safety Vann McElroy, too. . . . Nobody will trade with Al Davis? It’s a theory you hear now and then but Tuesday the Raiders made four deals, with the Jets, Redskins, Patriots and Bears. . . . Why didn’t the Raiders go after a running back to replace Napoleon McCallum? They still hope that he’ll be back, despite the recent ruling by Navy Secretary James Webb. Said Tom Flores: “We didn’t do anything last year to jeopardize his obligation. He still fulfilled everything he was supposed to.” A spokesman for Webb, however has said that last year’s assignment of McCallum would now be deemed a special accommodation.