THE NFL DRAFT : Raider Picks Raise Question Marks : Tim Brown Rated Solid; Scott Davis a Longshot of Sorts

It was a Raider draft like any other, which means that Al Davis picks and everyone says, “Huh?”

Except for the solid gold choice--Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown--there were raised eyebrows galore. The second of their three first-round picks, Tennessee cornerback Terry McDaniel, was termed a “reach,” or not a good enough player to be chosen with the ninth pick in the draft. The third, Illinois defensive end Scott Davis, was labeled “vastly overrated” by ESPN’s Mel Kiper.

Monday, the professionals weighed in. A National Conference personnel director, reviewing the top of the Raider draft, said the first two choices are fine and the third--Davis--was “taking a shot,” but the kind the Raiders have succeeded on before.

Here are that anonymous personnel director’s comments:

--Brown: “He should develop into a really good player. He has good size, good speed, he can run with the ball. Despite the problem he had last year when he was playing with a broken finger, he has good hands.

“He needs to polish running routes, reading coverages, adjusting to coverages. Notre Dame never really had a pro-style passing offense. They used him as a wishbone halfback, a receiver in motion, all over. He needs to line up against good cornerbacks, learn how to turn ‘em around, all that stuff.”

--McDaniel: “He’s a really good cover corner. He’s a tough kid. He had problems with the run but not for a lack of toughness. He’s just a smaller player. Obviously the Raiders have problems there, but I think he’s a fine player, well worth the pick. His problem was that shoulder surgery. You didn’t hear that much about him after that, but I don’t think he’s a reach, or certainly not much of one.”

--Scott Davis: “They’re taking a shot with him, but they’ve had a lot of luck with guys like him. Howie Long was not a dominating defensive lineman at Villanova. Sean Jones was not a dominating lineman, even at little Northeastern. The difference is that Scott Davis comes from a major university.

“He’s a very, very up-and-down guy. If they can get him to play hard, then the pick will be justified. You look at him, he’s a prototype. He looks exactly what you want a defensive lineman to look like.”

Did the Raiders need to trade Dokie Williams and two picks--a 2 and a 4--to move up the eight spots to draft? Would the San Francisco 49ers, who then took another defensive end, Danny Stubbs, have taken him?

“We heard they might have,” the personnel director said. “There’s that relationship that Bill Walsh has with (former Illinois Coach) Mike White.”

The Raiders, who also go way back with White, asked him about Davis, too. The reply reportedly wasn’t all raves, but it was good enough.

Monday’s Raider picks:

Sixth round--Erwin Grabisna, inside linebacker, 6 feet 3 inches, 250 pounds, Case Western Reserve. The Biz, they called him at Case Western in Cleveland. A kind of Vance Mueller redux. Two years ago, the Raiders used a fourth-round pick, taking Mueller out of Division III Occidental because he had unreal size-speed numbers. Grabisna’s are even more amazing. He’s a Little All-American in football and track, and his football coach, Ron Stuckey, says he’s run an 11-second 100 meters, electronically timed. This is a 250-pounder we’re talking about. He also has a 3.2 grade-point average in electrical engineering. Now for the big question: Can he play football?

“I don’t know how he’ll do with the big boys,” Stuckey said. “He dominated at this level.”

Said the above-mentioned personnel director: “He knocked everybody’s eyes out at the Indianapolis combine workout but he didn’t do much at Case Western.”

Seventh round--Derrick Crudup, safety, 6-2, 210, Oklahoma. Five years ago, he was a quarterback prospect for assistant coach Mike Shanahan of the Florida Gators.

Eighth round--Mike Alexander, wide receiver, 6-3, 215, Penn State. The Raiders see him as a fledging tight end prospect.

Ninth round--Reggie Ware, running back, 6-1, 240, Auburn.

--Scott Tabor, punter, 6-3, 195, Cal. He was the third-leading punter in the nation. The Raiders don’t often draft punters, so they must mean to give him a real shot at Stan Talley’s job.

10th round--Newt Harrell, offensive tackle, 6-5, 295, West Texas State. One of two offensive lineman they drafted.

11th round--David Weber, quarterback, 6-3, 215, Carroll (Wis.) College. The only quarterback they drafted. You Marc Wilson critics, this probably isn’t the alternative you were looking for.

12th round--Greg Kunkel, guard, 6-5, 285, Kentucky.

RAIDER DRAFT CHOICES

Round Name, School Pos. 1 Tim Brown, Notre Dame WR 1 Terry McDaniel, Tennessee DB 1 Scott Davis, Illinois DE 4 Tim Rother, Nebraska DT 5 Dennis Price, UCLA DB 6 Erwin Grabisna, Case Western Reserve LB 7 Derrick Crudup, Oklahoma DB 8 Michael Alexander, Penn State WR 9 Reggie Ware, Auburn RB 9 Scott Tabor, California P 10 Newt Harrell, West Texas State OT 11 David Weber, Carroll (Wis.) QB 12 Greg Kunkel, Kentucky G