A LOOK AT THE NFL DRAFT

It’s time for that annual week of rumor, gossip and innuendo, leading to next Sunday’s National Football League college draft.

This one is supposed to be singularly uninteresting, seeing as how no quarterback is expected to go in the first round, nor any running back inside 10 picks, and teams are diving out of the way of the Heisman Trophy winner, Notre Dame’s Tim Brown.

But don’t tell it to the two local entries. The Rams, having just disenFranchised themselves, must prove that draft picks--they have a pair of No. 1s and two 2s, too--can mean as much as Eric Dickerson.

The Raiders have their highest pick since the start of the common draft, sixth overall, plus two 2s of their own, and high hopes even of landing the scorned golden domer, Brown, himself.

“It’d be the Marcus Allen scenario all over,” said Joel Buchsbaum, the Pro Football Weekly draftnik. “The Heisman Trophy winner that everybody decided there was something wrong with slides down to their pick.”

A big X factor is quarterback Kelly Stouffer, fifth choice in last year’s draft but unsigned by the Phoenix Cardinals. If they don’t sign him or trade him, he’ll go back into the draft. Let’s assume that the Cardinals will decide to get what they can and trade him. Let’s also assume it won’t be to the Raiders, who seem to have lost whatever interest they had.

A much bigger X factor is the recently reduced Pitt tailback, Craig (Ironhead) Heyward, down 30 pounds into the 250s. The Rams are head over heels in love with him, even to the point of considering trading up from their 14th spot in the first round to ensure getting him.

Without further ado, with only seven days left for stabbing thy neighbor, here’s a look at the first round of the draft, in order of how the teams will pick:

1. ATLANTA: Auburn outside linebacker Aundray Bruce. Already signed, sealed and delivered.

2. DETROIT: Miami free safety Bennie Blades. The Kansas City staff has Blades down as the soundest player in the draft. New Detroit General Manager Jerry Vainisi wins out over embattled Coach Darryl Rogers, who wanted Tim Brown, who might score some points and saved Rogers’ job. Rogers, however, lost his clout last year by drafting the troubled Reggie Rogers when everyone else was getting out of the way. The Lions don’t figure to let Darryl draft anyone else named Rogers.

3. KANSAS CITY: Nebraska defensive end Neil Smith. A solid pick, the only blue-chip pass rusher in the draft, a 260-pounder who runs the 40 in 4.6, or faster than most fullbacks, has a 35-inch vertical leap and the largest wing spread of any Cornhusker lineman ever. Coach Frank Gansz wants to phase out aging Art Still.

4. TAMPA BAY: South Carolina wide receiver Sterling Sharpe. The new cannon, Vinny Testaverde, needs a deep threat. The Buccaneers would have liked Blades but Sharpe, Brown and Miami’s Michael Irvin, a latecomer, are rated with the ’84 class of Jerry Rice-Al Toon-Eddie Brown and 1978’s James Lofton-John Jefferson-Wes Chandler. Coach Ray Perkins is said to be very high on Sharpe, very low on Brown.

5. CINCINNATI: They’re talking Blades, Brown and Pitt fullback Craig Heyward, but this could be to persuade someone to trade for the pick. If they stay here, they’re more likely to take Oklahoma corner-back Rickey Dixon, a terrific athlete despite his Wonderlich intelligence score--3, or what you get for filling in your name--is said to be intelligent enough on the field. Plus, he won’t cost too much--a Bengal prerequisite.

6. RAIDERS: Tim Brown, they hope, they hope. The Raiders think that the beating he’s taken from scouts is just so much paralysis by analysis. Let everyone else talk him down, Al Davisloves guys who can get into the end zone. Wide receiver isn’t a need, but the Raiders think these guys are special. They figure that if the Lions pass Brown by, they’ve got him.

7. GREEN BAY: Wisconsin offensive tackle Paul Gruber. Packer writers think they’ll go for Illinois defensive end Scott Davis, but here’s a vote for the hometown 290-pound blue-chipper.

8. NEW YORK JETS: USC offensive tackle Dave Cadigan. The Jets, who played five pint-sized guards last season, want to get bigger and Cadigan is 280 pounds. Prized for his nasty frame of mind.

9. HOUSTON: Illinois defensive end Davis. nconsistent but athletic and a strong pass rusher, and therefore important to a team that blitzed a lot, but rarely reached the quarterback.

10. NEW YORK GIANTS: Would have taken Gruber or Cadigan but, with both gone, tab Stanford fullback Brad Muster. Joe Morris had a bad ’87 season and is a poor receiver anyway. Muster is better balanced.

11. DALLAS: Miami wide receiver Irvin. A year ago, the line was, “Gil Brandt says it’s not going to be Danny Noonan, so it’s Noonan.” This year, Brandt says it’s not going to be Irvin. However, Mike Sherrard is hurt again, the Cowboys are dying for a deep threat and Irvin isn’t some marginal prospect. higan State running back Lorenzo White. Top scout George Boone, author of the drafts of Steve Pisarkiewicz, Clyde Duncan and Anthony Bell, has become such an embarrassment that the Cardinals need a chalk pick. Stump Mitchell is small and aging and Earl Ferrell is coming off knee surgery.

12.PHOENIX: Michigan State running back Lorenzo White. Top scout George Boone, author of the drafts of Steve Pisarkiewicz, Clyde Duncan and Anthony Bell, has become such an embarrassment that the Cardinals need a chalk pick. Stump Mitchell is small and aging and Earl Ferrell is coming off arthroscopic knee surgery.

13. PHILADELPHIA: Tennessee cornerback Terry McDaniel. Buddy Ryan’s 46 defense was put to the torch weekly, and the Eagles need someone who can cover someone. McDaniel played bump-and-run for the Volunteers, and the Eagles are pooh-poohing his shoulder surgery. Of course, two years ago they gambled on Keith Byars, whose foot problems continue.

14. RAMS: Pitt fullback Heyward. Lots of people are down on Ironhead as a bad actor, but lotsof others think he’s a hefty prodigy a la Charles Barkley. John Robinson, insisting on beinginvolved in the draft with John Math for the first time, is at the head of the latter group.

15. SAN DIEGO: Northwest Louisiana State running back John Stephens. The Dan Fouts Era is over and the Chargers want to play power football. Stephens is a 217-pounder who wowed everyone at the Indianapolis combine workout with a 4.4 time in the 40.

16. MIAMI: Oklahoma tight end Keith Jackson. Originally slated to go higher but marked down for poor practice habits. He’s a 245-pounder who can block and get deep--he averaged 28.8 yards a catch as a senior--and the Dolphins, who throw to their tight end a lot, won’t be able to resist him, even if they need defensive help.

17. NEW ENGLAND: Florida outside linebacker Clifford Charlton. Inside linebacker Steve Nelson has retired and Don Blackmon, who plays outside, suffered a serious neck injury.

18. PITTSBURGH: Tennessee wide receiver Anthony Miller. A 177-pound game-breaker from Pasadena City College who became another Volunteer flyer in the tradition of Stanley Morgan and Willie Gault.

19. MINNESOTA: Arizona State offensive guard Randall McDaniel. The Vikings have another of those lines that need to get bigger.

20. SEATTLE: No pick. The Seahawks used it for linebacker Barry Bosworth in the ’87 supplemental draft.

21. RAMS: UCLA running back Gaston Green. Rushing title or no, the Rams worry about Charles White’s speed. There are questions about Green’s durability but none about his quickness or ability. If the Rams get Heyward, they will likely go to two backs, which works better with Ernie Zampese’s passing game.

22. HOUSTON: Mississippi Valley inside linebacker Vince Brown. Coach Jerry Glanville, ever on the lookout for wimps on his roster, is down on inside linebacker Al Smith. Brown is a 237-pounder who comes with a highly-rated forearm shiver. Love at first sight.

23. CLEVELAND: Miami defensive end Dan Stubbs. A little small but an outside pass rusher, and the Browns, trying to shed the old bend-but-don’t-break posture, want one badly.

24. CHICAGO: Cal outside linebacker Ken Harvey. The Bears need to replace the departed Wilber Marshall. Harvey is a strong, quick 220-pounder.

25. NEW ORLEANS: Arizona State wide receiver Aaron Cox. The Saints have ordinary receivers. Cox is a fast 175-pounder, the best Sun Devil receiver since John Jefferson.

26. SAN FRANCISCO: Purdue inside linebacker Fred Strickland. The 49er defense is the answer to people who think this is a finesse team, but the 49ers would like to get bigger inside.

27. DENVER: Clemson defensive tackle Michael Dean Perry. The Fridge’s brother is 6-0, 278 himself, and rated higher than his older, wealthier, never-quite-really-got-there sibling. Little Fridge doesn’t want to play nose tackle, but the Bronco incumbent, Greg Kragen, is a mere 255-pounder.

28. CHICAGO: Arizona State cornerback Eric Allen. The Bears have featured burned cornerbacks for two seasons, have tried drafting reinforcements but are still squinting through the columns of smoke.